Sugar and Spice
by Punk Rock Kitsune
Summary: AU. Levi moves to the small Christian town Shiganshina to start a new life working part time as a teacher and at a family owned bakery. The government has strict laws, banning "sinful" acts. All Levi wanted was a peaceful life. But what happens when he gets suspicious of the government's true intentions and falls in love with someone he's not supposed to? Riren. Warnings inside.
1. Brand New Day

**Hey guys! This is the second of three stories I am planning on writing during the summer. The first one, of course, was Eyes of the Beholder. The third one will take a little while to release because of the storyline. The title, however, will be Let's Play: Eren and Levi. Any guesses on what that's going to be about? :P And don't worry, the final chapter of Only Lonely is coming out hopefully this week!**

**As for priority, that's up to you. Whichever story you guys like the most will be top priority. :D**

**For those who are new to my stories, hello! Let's be friends! :D**

**Enjoy the first chapter, and I'll see ya at the bottom! **

* * *

_**Title: **__Sugar and Spice_

_**Rating: **M for __underage drinking, implied drug use, language, and of course, Riren sexy times._

_**TRIGGER WARNING: There will be themes about religion… specifically Christianity.**__ This is in no way any ploy to bash on Christianity. It's just for plot purposes. __I will not be responding to complaints or explaining myself from here on out.__ You have been warned._

_**Disclaimer: **__I do not own Attack on Titan. Credit goes to Hajime Isayama._

_**Summary: **_AU. Levi moves to the small Christian town Shiganshina to start a new life working part time as a teacher and at a family owned bakery. The town has strict laws, banning "sinful" acts. All Levi wanted was a peaceful life. But what happens when he gets suspicious of the government's true intentions and falls in love with someone he's not supposed to? Riren. Warnings inside.

* * *

_**Chapter 1 **Brand New Day_

Levi exhaled deeply as he stepped off of his black Suzuki motorcycle. He watched his breath disappear into the cold air. The short man hoisted his backpack with all of his belongings up over his shoulders.

_Finally… I'm here. _

He stared at the small brick house in front of him. Levi walked up the door and knocked. A tall blond man answered the door.

"Levi!" He smiled.

"Erwin Smith." Levi replied unenthusiastically. "Now that we know who we are, can you let me in? I'm freezing my balls off."

"Nice to see you again, too." Erwin stepped aside. "You haven't changed from when we were growing up in Mitras. I'm glad you made it here safe."

Erwin glanced at Levi's backpack. "Is that all you have?"

"Sorry that spending the rest of my little money on the cheapest mode of transportation to Shiganshina has left me with barely any clothing and food." Levi snapped. "Living in a shelter left me with little options. And for some reason, this town doesn't allow bus or taxi service."

Erwin nodded. "I'm sorry about that. It's weird, I know. As for clothes, we'll take care of that soon. And Levi… are you one hundred percent sure that you're clean? You know Shiganshina's government has a strict ban on-"

"Yes, yes, I know. How else would I have gotten past those stupid cops stationed at the city line?" Levi rubbed his temples. "Seriously, are they really necessary? I bet they have so much fun breathalyzing every goddamn person that leaves and enters the city."

"It's our protocol." Erwin shrugged, taking Levi's coat and hanging it up. "This town is strictly Protestant. Before I moved here, this city has had many strict laws and bans put in place. No loud music, dancing, drugs, or alcohol. The minors have mandatory religious classes at the high school, and they have an early curfew. In fact, the citizens are not allowed to leave the city unless approved by the board. I have no idea what precipitated all of that."

"Hn. Interesting. Then it's a good thing I'm not a citizen." Levi murmured, not really caring. All he wanted was a temporary place to live so he could get back on his feet. The laws weren't a priority for him.

"…come on, let me show you where you'll be sleeping." Erwin told Levi.

Erwin led Levi to the small spare room. He managed to fit a daybed, two dressers, a hamper, and a desk inside.

"I'm sorry it's not much… but when I saw your condition in Mitras, I just knew I had to get you out of there." Erwin said solemnly.

Levi sighed. "I'm going to treat Mitras like a bad hangover. So at least try not to bring it up." Levi inspected the room and scrunched his nose at the dust. "Besides, the bigger issue here is the standard of cleanliness in this place. I hope you have plenty of Windex and Scrubbing Bubbles here."

Erwin chuckled. "You forget we were best friends at one point. Of course I stocked up on cleaning supplies. You would have killed me if I hadn't."

"Damn right." Levi sat his backpack next to the desk, deciding to sort his stuff out tomorrow. "Erwin… thanks for letting me stay here. As soon as I get enough money, I will find a home of my own."

Erwin smiled softly. "What are friends for? So, the bathroom is right across the hall. I left out a washcloth, a towel, and soap for you. And you don't have to worry about cleaning. I already did that. See you in the morning."

With that, Erwin left Levi alone and went to his own room for the night. Levi opened his backpack and pulled out an old T-shirt and a pair of boxers before going in the bathroom. After shedding his clothes and folding them neatly, Levi turned on the hot water and stepped inside. His muscles immediately relaxed.

_Tomorrow, I have a job interview at Shiganshina High School. Then I have one at the Maria Bakery. Those were the only places that had job openings. I'm not sure how I will fare with a bunch of brats, but I'm just glad the school hires based on skill, not background. The bakery sounds like a nice, relaxing place, too. _

Levi closed his eyes as his former life in the big city washed down the drain along with the soap and water running down his body.

* * *

The next morning, Levi woke up to the strong smell of coffee. He looked towards the window. The sun had not risen yet, so he guessed it was about six am. His interview at the school is at eight.

Levi made his bed then walked over to his backpack. He took out the few clothes he had and folded them into the drawers. Levi did not have dressy clothes to wear to the interview, so he decided on a polo shirt and black pants.

He took his comb, brush, toothbrush, and toothpaste to the bathroom. He winced at the dark circles under his eyes, but decided to ignore them. After doing his hair and brushing his teeth, he walked out to the kitchen. As he figured, Erwin was up making coffee. He was already dressed in his police uniform.

"Good morning." Erwin greeted him.

"Hi." Levi yawned. "Have fun babysitting everyone on town today."

Erwin rolled his eyes. "Whatever. I just hope the government realizes that putting all of these restrictions on people will only backfire in time. Well, I'm off. I left instructions on how to get to the high school on the fridge. See you this evening."

Erwin picked up his keys and left the house.

Levi helped himself to a cup of coffee as he took the instructions off the fridge and read them.

"Hm, that doesn't seem too far from here." Levi muttered.

Levi had an hour before he had to arrive at SHS, so he took it upon himself to wash Erwin's dishes from yesterday that were lodged in the sink. After those were done, Levi grabbed his only coat and the keys to his Suzuki and left before he could succumb to cleaning the entire house.

It was 7:45, and Levi had plenty of time. He revved up his bike and sped off. Levi was able to take a good look at the town. It was definitely rural. The roads were okay, but rundown. The houses were small, and a few were two stories. Levi noticed that no one had new looking cars. Most were compact cars. He didn't see a lot of franchises like McDonald's or Wal-Mart. Everything was generic.

Levi slowed down slightly when he was nearing a bakery. The small bakery was attached to a house, so he assumed that the family lived there. The sign on the building was lit up and said Maria Bakery.

"So that's where I'll be going later." Levi made a mental note of its location.

Outside the bakery, there were two teenagers talking and laughing. The sun had almost risen completely, so Levi was able to make out their appearance. One was a boy of average height with dark brown hair and vibrant green eyes. The other boy next to him was about Levi's height with blond hair and ocean blue eyes. They were wearing identical white collared shirts, black ties, red vests, and khaki pants, so Levi figured they were school uniforms.

The two boys stopped their conversation when they saw Levi ride by them, his engines roaring.

"Eren! That's a motorcycle!" Levi heard the shorter boy say excitedly. "This is the first time I've seen one in person!"

Levi was out of earshot when Eren scoffed jealously.

"Whatever, Armin. He thinks he's a hotshot. I swear, the adults here are fucking hypocrites. They say motorcycles are noisy and unwanted, but there one goes. Come on, let's go before we're late."

_**~.~.~.~.**_

"So, you're Levi Ackerman?" The principal of Shiganshina High School, Dot Pixis, asked.

"That's what it says on my résumé." Levi replied, coming out a bit more snarky than he would have liked.

In Levi's defense, he was a bit irritated before coming in to his interview. He passed by more high school brats walking to school, and they either ogled at his bike or shouted at him enviously.

_Those stupid brats. They act like motorcycles are rare artifacts._

Pixis smiled. "Wow, a sense of humor. We need some of that in this school." The old man looked back down at the résumé. "You graduated from high school in the top fifteen percent. Your highest level of education was three years in college. You had a double major in Hebrew and Japanese. Obviously you're pretty smart. What inspired you to major in those two languages, and why did you drop out?"

"Well, I was born in a Jewish family, hence my name Levi, and growing up, I learned and spoke Hebrew. Hebrew wasn't offered as a language in middle school or high school. I originally wasn't going to take another language, but I was inspired to take Japanese." Levi explained, not liking having to remember parts of his past.

"But I met this little Japanese girl and her mother at the soup kitchen I volunteered at. The girl looked about four. he and her mother didn't speak much English at all. The only words she knew was "please" and "thank you". I only knew "Boku ha Levi Ackerman", so I said that. She smiled a little and started speaking in Japanese, but I had no idea what she was saying. I heard her say "Mikasa", which I'm guessing was her name. So, I was inspired to take Japanese in high school. I saw her one other time when I was a senior in high school. Her mother wasn't with her. "

Pixis smiled. "Mikasa, hm? There is a Mikasa that was adopted by the Jaeger family a few years ago. She claimed her last name was "Ackerman", though her records said otherwise."

Levi's eyes widened. "Really…? She's here?"

Pixis nodded. "Yes. She's sickly, so she stays at home and is homeschooled by Carla Jaeger, the owner of the Maria Bakery. Her son Eren Jaeger attends this school, though. He's a troublesome young man, but he means well. Mikasa cares about Eren a lot."

Levi was a bit unsettled by how much Pixis knew about people. Then again, Shiganshina is a really small town, with a population of 4,000 people.

_Eren Jaeger… I think I saw that guy this morning. He was leaving the bakery. His little friend called him "Eren"._

"So, tell me, why should I give a job to a college dropout?" Pixis asked seriously, snapping Levi out of his thoughts. "How committed are you?"

Levi clenched his fists. "I… was going through a rough time. Two people I cared deeply about died, and I was very, _very_, committed to them. We were family, working hard in school so we could escape our shitty lives in Mitras. But then…" Levi trailed off. "…our dreams were broken."

Pixis stacked his papers and closed his eyes. "Levi… we recently had a position open up in the foreign language department. The board approved of Japanese being taught if a qualified person was available. Unfortunately, the board did not want other languages like Hebrew to be taught in fear of religious defection. It was a miracle the board let Japanese through."

Pixis looked up at Levi. "Since this is a new language, there will only be a morning class. If enough people sign up next semester for Japanese, would you be able to take the job?"

Levi's eyes widened at the offer. "Why… yes. I would."

"You will be getting a call from me in two weeks if things work out." Pixis stood up to shake Levi's hand. "I look forward to it. Be sure to write up a plan for a possible curriculum so I can pass it on to the foreign language department."

"Thank you, sir." Levi told him, returning the handshake.

Levi left the school, feeling a bit better about things than before. However, the town's weird policies are creeping him out a little.

_Religious defection… what the hell? Learning eastern languages does not mean someone will stop following whatever religion they follow. I'm not religious, but I'm still Jewish. What, will the government kick me out for my religious background? Tch._

Levi bumped into someone on accident.

"Watch where you're walking, midget." The person snapped.

Levi's eye twitched at the mop of brown hair that brushed past him. The voice sounded like the Eren from this morning.

_These damn brats. Who does he think he is? No wonder this town is so unyielding._ Levi shook his head. _Whatever. I'm not going to worry about it._

Levi walked back out of the school and hopped back on his motorcycle.

_I don't have to be at the bakery until three, so I think I'm just gonna go back to Erwin's house and clean my problems away._

However, Levi wasn't let off that easy. He wasn't a mile away until a police car stopped him.

"What the actual fuck?" Levi pulled over, confused by what he could have possibly done wrong.

The officer that stopped him was pretty tall with short black hair and a goatee and mustache. His eyes were dark and unamused. His tag read "Nile Dok".

"License and registration."

Levi dug in his pocket and took out his wallet holding the wanted identification. "Is there a problem?" He asked as politely as he could.

Nile ignored him as he verified the information.

Levi was baffled, but kept his face calm. "So _what_ is the problem exactly?" He asked again.

"Motorcycles are not allowed unless they have an 80 decibel noise limit and the correct emissions standards." Nile replied sternly. "You woke up a lot of people this morning with the noise. Everyone here makes it easier on everyone and just doesn't buy a motorcycle. This is disturbing the peace."

Nile then spotted something on the side of the bike. "And get _that_ removed immediately."

Levi looked at where Nile was pointing at. It was a pitch fork bumper sticker.

"Satanic propaganda is also not allowed."

"Satanic propaganda?" Levi repeated, raising an eyebrow. "It's just a damn sticker. I did not buy it. It was already on the bike when I bought it used."

"Watch your language." Nile snapped. "I'm just following the law, and you should do the same. This is your first and only warning, Levi Ackerman. Get the bike fixed to where it's not so loud, and get rid of that sticker, or I will write you up."

With that, Nile walked back to his police car and drove off.

"…what the fuck?" Levi muttered, revving his engine up again. "I need a copy of all these "laws", because this is ridiculous."

Levi drove back to Erwin's house, irritated and confused.

* * *

**There you have it! ****So what's going on with Shiganshina? Why are they so try hard with laws? It will be revealed bit by bit.**

******In the next chapter, you will see Levi's first real interaction with Eren, and his reunion with Mikasa. Since the relationship with Mikasa and Levi's last name is unknown anyway, I thought I would play around with it in this story. :) And yes, yes, I know Mikasa's last name has always been Ackerman. I'm just changing it around here.**

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**PRK**


	2. The Rebel

**Hey guys! Thank you so much for the reviews, favorites, and alerts! I really appreciate it.**

**This is part of the tri-update I did today. I also updated Eyes of the Beholder and the final chapter to Only Lonely, so check those out after this! :D**

**Enjoy the chapter~!**

* * *

_**Chapter 2 **The __Rebel_

Levi smirked in satisfaction as he looked around Erwin's now spotless house. He was so content that he almost forgot about the shit the officer gave him. Almost.

Erwin walked in the house at noon and almost dropped his bag. "Levi… I see you've made yourself at home by cleaning and rearranging my stuff…"

"You should be thanking me." Levi scoffed. "The way I reordered things around will keep the house clean for a longer period of time. If I wasn't so kind, I would be asking for payment right now. So instead, I'm going to ask you what the fuck is wrong with the police."

Erwin raised an eyebrow. "What? What happened?"

"Your friendly neighborhood officer stopped me because my engines were "too loud", and there was a pitchfork bumper sticker on the side that I didn't even buy. I bought the motorcycle used, and it was already on there." Levi explained.

"He said that he would give me a ticket if I didn't fix the engine and get rid of the sticker. Honestly, I'm not even that upset. Just a bit frustrated. This motorcycle is my only mode of transportation. What if I need to leave Shiganshina for something? It's not like I can ask you to ignore your duties and take me. You weren't able to even bring me down here."

Erwin's mouth formed a firm line. "You got stopped by Nile Dok, didn't you?"

Levi remembered the cop's name tag. "Yeah, that was his name."

"Don't think too badly of him." Erwin sighed, sitting down at the kitchen table. "He's just doing his job, and that's all that matters to him. He's the most level headed out of the police here. Even if you talk rudely to him, he won't get angry like everyone else. Did he let you off with a warning?"

"Yeah." Levi rolled his eyes. "I felt like a fucking kindergartner."

Erwin chuckled. "Lucky you. Not many of the officers do so. Only six do, including myself and Nile. But Nile won't let you off twice."

Levi crossed his arms, still not liking the fact he was pulled over for petty shit. "Well, I still think it's messed up. The bumper sticker thing was completely unnecessary. I didn't even buy it. Hasn't this town heard of freedom of expression anyway?"

"This place isn't like the capital." Erwin told him seriously. "I don't agree with many of the things they do here, but the law is the law. Pastor Nick, the head of the Shiganshina Church, is heavily influential in the government here. He put all of these laws into place many years ago, way before I started working here. He claims that he wants to maintain the Christian morals and keep crime away. There hasn't been a single incident here in years."

"But what about people who aren't Christian?" Levi asked.

Erwin hesitated. "Well… everyone here is Christian. The protection offered in this town is tremendous, and the only requirement to live here is to be a Christian or convert to Christianity and attend a service once a week."

Levi's eyes narrowed. "Come on. Not everyone here could possibly be Christian."

Erwin shrugged. "Well, even if someone isn't, they will never speak of it. I don't think it's the religion that's the problem. It's the people running the government. Especially Pastor Nick."

Levi leaned back against the counter. "Well, I guess I can handle attending service. I'll think of it as a chance to learn about another religious culture."

"That's the spirit… pun intended." Erwin smiled. "Well, thanks to you, my lunch break is over. I better get going. I'll see you later on tonight."

"Sure." Levi waved Erwin away. "Go preach to people."

"That's Pastor Nick's job." Erwin said before leaving the house.

Levi washed his hands and opened Erwin's refrigerator to fix some lunch.

_The perfect religious utopia, huh? Going to church in return for protection seems like a pretty good deal on the surface, but those kids… something tells me that they don't think it's so great._

* * *

Later on in the day, Levi opted to walk to the bakery instead of ride his bike and get stopped again. He did not want any trouble here, and he decided to fix his bike with the tools he found in Erwin's house later.

Levi checked his watch. 2:50 pm. He would make it promptly at three. The cold October air made Levi shiver. Riding his motorcycle would have made the coldness not so bad.

The lit sign of the bakery coming into view comforted him slightly. He jogged the rest of the way and opened the glass door. The little bell on the top of the door jingled, alerting the owner inside.

A woman who was a few inches taller than Levi came out from around the back and stood in front of the glass display of cakes and other pastries. She smiled at him.

"Hello, sir! Welcome to the Maria Bakery! You're a new face around here. Anything you want today is on me!"

Levi was a bit surprised at the kindness. He figured everyone here would be mean to him.

"Oh, um, thank you, but I'm actually here for the job opening you had here." Levi told her. "Erwin Smith told you about me, yes?"

"Yes! You must be Levi Ackerman!" Carla walked around the counter and stood in front of Levi with her arm stretched out. "I'm Carla Jaeger, the owner of this bakery. It's nice to finally meet you!"

Levi shook her hand. "Likewise."

"I'm sorry my husband couldn't be here to meet you. He's a travelling doctor, so he's gone most of the time. When Erwin told me that you were the one that Mikasa met years ago, we were ecstatic! I had wondered why Mikasa wanted her last name to be Ackerman."

Levi felt a little awkward, but pressed on. "Yes. It's been a long time."

"So, let me tell you about this place. You don't need to have any experience to work here." Carla smiled. "I have trained all of the workers I've had here myself! Unfortunately, it's just been down to me and my son running the bakery, so it's nice to get some help. He's fifteen and has school, so I can't depend on him all of the time."

Carla checked the wall clock. "In fact, I'm in the middle of preparing a cake a lady has ordered. As soon as I find a place to stop, I will be back with you. Please follow me."

Carla led Levi around back and stopped where a flight of stairs led to the upper part of the place.

_So I was right. This family lives on top of the bakery._ Levi thought.

"Eren!" Carla called upstairs. "Eren, come here!"

A loud groan could be heard. The clop of boots banged down the stairs. It was the brunette boy from this morning. He was still wearing his uniform.

"Whaaaat?" Eren complained. "I was talking to Mikasa."

"Eren, this is Levi, hopefully our new employee." Carla introduced him.

Eren looked at Levi disinterestedly. "Sup."

Levi felt his eye twitch again.

"Eren!" Carla scolded. "What have I told you about your manners?"

Eren shifted his weight to his right leg. "Hi, nice to meet you. I'm Eren Jaeger."

"I'm Levi Ackerman." Levi replied.

"Please show Levi around downstairs and upstairs." Carla instructed her son. "And be sure to introduce him to Mikasa. They were acquaintances at one point." With that, Carla walked back to the kitchen.

Eren eyed Levi. "So you're the guy Mikasa got her last name from? And here I thought Mikasa had good taste in people."

It took all of Levi's willpower not to smack him on the head. "You know, your mother is a very nice lady. To think she gave birth to such a bratty kid is beyond my comprehension." Levi replied coolly.

Eren clenched his fists. "Shut up."

"You don't even know me kid, yet you're picking a fight with me." Levi clicked his tongue. "That shows a lot about your character. I did nothing to you. Or are you pissed because I have a motorcycle and you don't have anything neat like that?"

Eren looked away. "Whatever, I'm done arguing with you. Let me show you around and get this over with. Maybe then you'll fuck off."

Levi was taken aback. _He has quite the mouth for a fifteen year old. That cop gave me lip for saying "damn." So what's going on with this brat?_

"When you came in, you saw the tables and chairs customers sit at, and of course the display of pastries, so that's all self-explanatory." Eren deadpanned. "So let me show you the kitchen."

Carla was still hard at work, so Eren and Levi did their best not to disturb her.

"We keep our ingredients in these two refrigerators." Eren gestured around. "We keep all of our baking utensils in these three drawers. And over here is our cleaning station."

Levi perked up in interest. "Let me see."

Eren sweatdropped as Levi looked through the cleaning supplies.

"This is pretty high quality stuff. I like it." Levi said, standing up straight again.

Levi heard a muffled giggle coming from Carla on the other side of the room.

"…you're weird." Eren told Levi.

"Thanks." Levi smirked.

"Let me show you the upstairs before you start fornicating with the mop." Eren scoffed before walking away.

"Eren!" Carla said in a warning tone.

Eren ignored her. Levi rolled his eyes at Eren's immaturity. "Its fine, Mrs. Jaeger."

Levi followed Eren upstairs.

"There's no bathroom downstairs, so if you have to go, it's right here, the door to your right." Eren said. "And just to warn you, don't think about stealing anything. The last guy tried to. We got our stuff back. We didn't call the police because we didn't want to break the "peace" we've had. But for you, we may make an exception and call." He smirked.

"Duly noted." Levi replied, scowling.

"Our regular kitchen is to your left. When you're on your break, you can come here. You don't have to bring your lunch. My mother provides it." Eren explained. "And that's pretty much it. This place isn't that big. I guess I take you to Mikasa now."

Eren led Levi to another room. It was blue and grey. Fifteen year old Mikasa Ackerman was lying in bed, reading a book.

"Mikasa, someone's here to see you." Eren called to her.

The black haired girl looked up. Her mouth gaped slightly when her eyes fell on Levi.

"It's… you." Mikasa sat up in her bed, shocked. "Levi Ackerman."

"It's been seven years." Levi's eyes softened. "I'm sorry you've been sick."

Mikasa chuckled. "I've always been sort of feeble. I'm getting better though. Dr. Jaeger said that I may be able to attend high school next year with Eren."

"It's nothing to look forward to." Eren derided. "The teachers are boring as fuck, and they are strict."

"It doesn't matter, as long as I'm with you." Mikasa replied seriously. "As soon as I'm stronger, I will have your back, always."

Eren smiled softly. "Right…"

Mikasa directed her attention back to Levi. "Are you living in Shiganshina?"

Levi nodded. "Yeah. In fact, I'm planning on working here at the bakery."

Eren scowled while Mikasa smiled. "That's awesome. Eren needs someone to talk to, anyway."

"You make me sound like a loner." Eren snapped. "I have plenty of friends."

"I mean someone who has common sense." Mikasa clarified.

Levi chuckled at Eren's pouty face.

"Levi?" Carla called from downstairs. "I'm finally able to stop. If you're interested in working here, let's work something out."

Levi ruffled Mikasa's hair before walking out of her bedroom.

"Hey, Levi." Eren said, stepping out of Mikasa's room as well.

Levi turned around, a bit annoyed. "What, brat?"

Eren shifted uncomfortably. "If you do decide to work here… I guess if it makes Mikasa happy, then I won't be against it."

_As if it was up to you. _Levi thought, amused. _But coming from a brat with no manners, I guess it's kind of nice._

"Sure." Levi finally replied.

He walked downstairs to the waiting Carla.

* * *

Later that night, Erwin came home to the smell of fish and vegetables.

"Levi?" Erwin walked in the kitchen and saw Levi cooking at the stove.

"I can't wait to get my first paycheck so I can buy some real food." Levi said as a form of greeting. "This frozen shit sucks."

"Good evening to you too." Erwin smiled. "So how did your interviews go?"

"Relatively well." Levi replied, turning off the stove. "The principal offered me a position as a Japanese teacher."

"Oh? That's great! I never thought the board would agree to let eastern languages get taught." Erwin said.

"That's what Pixis said. Something about "religious defection" or some shit like that. Seriously, how will teaching a language convert somebody to another religion? It makes no sense." Levi sighed. "Oh, well. Pixis said that if enough people signed up for Japanese next semester, I will have a morning class."

"That's wonderful news. You are incredibly talented at foreign language, so I'm sure you'll do well." Erwin told him. "So how did the bakery go?"

Levi snorted. "It was okay, xcept for the brat Eren Jaeger. He has quite the mouth. That cop made me believe swearing was a sin here, but nope. Not that guy. I got to see Mikasa again, though. That was nice. I start in January, the same time as my hopeful teaching job. I just hope the kids aren't bratty like Jaeger."

"Most of the teenagers here are like that." Erwin explained. "It's just rebellion. They are more open with their resentment to the laws here. However, if they're caught, they're on church probation for two weeks."

"Ouch. That sucks ass." Levi dished two plates of the fish and vegetables. "I doubt it does much to change their attitude."

"Trust me, it doesn't." Erwin sighed. "Not much we can do about it, though. The most rebellious teens of them all are fifteen right now, including Eren Jaeger. I don't know what to do if they start protesting. I don't want to put them in cells."

"Then don't." Levi sat down with the plates and silverware, pushing one set in Erwin's direction. "Let the kids be kids."

"It's not a matter of kids being kids." Erwin said gravely. "The government wants complete peace. No disturbance at all. They talk about eliminating any possible threat. I don't want those kids to get in trouble and break the law."

Levi crossed his legs. "So what about when they turn eighteen? Why won't they just leave?"

"Because most of them can't afford to." Erwin said. "The protection here is unlike any other, so parents won't let them leave so easily. So then what will the kids do? They won't have the money to make it on their own. They have no other relatives to live with. No college degree to land them a high paying job. No mode of transportation. Don't forget, they can't leave without the approval by the government. The adults signed a contract before moving here."

"Damn…" Levi ate some of his fish. "Why are they doing all of this? What purpose could they have?"

Erwin shrugged. "They just want to keep the peace. Despite the laws, people feel safe here."

Levi slumped in his chair. "Well I'll be damned. Are those kids trapped here forever?"

"Unless they get a job here and make enough money to leave." Erwin said. "But that'll be just as difficult."

Levi chewed his food as he sat in thought.

_That bites… then again, if I had such strict rules in place when I was younger, maybe I would've turned out better than I did…_

* * *

**That's it for chapter 2! I hope you all enjoyed!**

**As I mentioned above, I updated Eyes of the Beholder and the finale to Only Lonely, so be sure to check those other two Riren stories out!**

**If you've liked the story so far, add this to your favorites and alerts.**

**And remember...**

**REVIEWS ARE LIKE PORN TO WRITERS, SO SATISFY OUR URGES!**

**I really appreciate feedback. See you in the next one!**

**PRK**


	3. Blunt

**Hello! Thanks for the reviews, faves, and alerts! I appreciate them!**

**There is a little time skip, which will be mentioned.**

**Enjoy the chapter, and I'll see ya at the bottom.**

* * *

_**Chapter 3 **__Blunt_

"We wish you a merry Christmas, we wish you a merry Christmas, we wish you a merry Christmas and a happy new year!"

Levi stared disdainfully at the yuletide carolers singing at the door.

"With tidings we bring, to you and your kin, we wish you a merry Christmas and a happy new ye-"

Levi slammed the door in their faces.

"Fuck this." Levi walked away from the front door. "I fucking hate the holidays."

Erwin walked out of the kitchen, chuckling. "But it's your birthday."

"I hate that, too."

Erwin sighed. "At least be kind to the carolers. Don't slam the door in their faces."

"No." Levi deadpanned. "That was the fifth group today."

"I'm sure you had carolers in Mitras." Erwin rolled his eyes.

"At least they kept it interesting." Levi smirked. "My favorite one was ten years ago. As you know, I was living in a pretty bad neighborhood. This one guy was obviously high as fuck, and he was going door to door at 3 am on Christmas day trying to sell weed. Never a good idea."

"I wonder if I should go door to door here and sing about marijuana." Levi sneered.

"Levi." Erwin warned. "Do you want to lose your opportunity of having both of your jobs? You haven't even started either one yet!"

"I was kidding." Levi sighed. "I went to Pastor Nick's little Christmas Eve sermon yesterday. He warned us not to get drunk or high on Jesus' birthday or else we'll wind up in hell, or some shit like that."

Levi tapped his fingers on the door. "That reminds me… I've been to several of his sermons over the duration of the two months I've been here. All he preaches about is not to do this or that or you'll spend eternity in a lake of fire. It's kind of annoying."

"That's just how it is around here." Erwin explained. "The government wants strict and complete order. They feel if the church lightens up, it'll cause people to get the wrong idea and defect."

"Of course." Levi walked away. "I need to get going. Carla called me in today. I'm beginning my job early, I guess."

"Oh?" Erwin raised an eyebrow. "I guess Carla still has orders. Well, see you when you get back."

"Yeah." Levi grabbed his new coat and walked outside. He was grateful for the clothes Erwin got him for his birthday and Christmas present.

Levi snarled when he walked out of the house. It was snowing rather heavily outside, and the road was covered in ice.

"Well, there goes riding my motorcycle." Levi groaned, pinching the bridge of his nose in irritation.

He dug into his coat pockets and pulled out his gloves and a scarf. Stuffing his gloved hands into his now empty pockets, Levi walked briskly on the slippery sidewalk. He tugged his scarf closer to his face.

The familiar red lights of Carla's sign came into view. And then, it happened. Levi didn't watch where he was stepping and his foot slipped under him. Levi fell forward, covering his face with his arms.

"Fuck!" Levi shouted between clenched teeth.

He tried to stand, but his legs and arms felt like they were on fire.

"Levi?" He heard a voice call in the distance.

In a matter of seconds, he heard feet pattering towards him quickly. Levi looked up to see Carla staring down at him worriedly.

"I heard you shout. What happened?" Carla asked, reaching her hand out to help him up.

"It's nothing. I just slipped." Levi grabbed Carla's hand, trying his best to ignore the pain that shot up his arm.

"Oh no! I've done that so many times." Carla told him. "Can you walk?"

Levi attempted to take a step forward, but the pain was too much. Levi looked down to see holes ripped in the knees of his jeans and blood spewing out.

_Shit. I must have hit the sidewalk directly._

"Wait right here." Carla told Levi.

Levi carefully sat back on the ground, frustrated and a little embarrassed. Carla came back a few seconds later with her bratty son.

"Eren, I want you to carry Levi inside." Carla instructed the young brunette.

Eren's eyes widened and Levi growled.

"No thanks." Levi spat. "I'd rather scoot on my ass like a dog than get carried by him."

Carla simply clicked her tongue at Levi. "Eren."

Eren didn't do much to hide his shit eating grin as he bent down to retrieve Levi.

"Touch me and you die." Levi growled, trying his best to stand up again.

"Don't touch him and you're grounded." Carla told Eren firmly.

Eren quickly picked Levi up, carrying him bridal style.

"Since when is getting grounded worse than death?" Levi growled, glaring at Eren.

"Stop complaining and let's go, princess." Eren smirked, following his mother. "Wow, you must be really old, getting taken out after a little fall."

Levi's fist connected with the back of Eren's head. "Do I seem old now?"

"Ow!" Eren whined, almost dropping Levi to rub the back of his head.

Levi squirmed uncomfortably, feeling absolutely livid. _Fuck this place. Fuck this snow. Fuck this brat._

Eren followed Carla into the bakery and carried him upstairs. Some of the customers inside waiting for their Christmas cakes and breads stared at Levi and Eren curiously.

"Sorry for keeping you waiting!" Carla cried, drawing the customer's attention away from the two males. "One of my employees got hurt."

Eren sat Levi down at the kitchen table.

"Wait here." He told the short man.

"It's not like I can walk anywhere." Levi retorted sarcastically.

"You could always scoot on your ass." Eren bit back before leaving the kitchen.

Levi stared back at the brunette in awe. How did this Christian town get a hold of such a cheeky little shit?

"Mikasa, he's fine." Levi heard Eren say from a distance. "He was walking with his cane, and he fell. Old people tend to do that. We should buy him a Life Alert for next time."

_Fuck him._

Eren returned with a first aid kit. He knelt in front of Levi.

"Your knees are scraped pretty bad. How about your arms? Are they okay?" Eren asked softly.

Levi was taken aback. What just happened? How did he go from being a bitch to a kind soul?

"N…no. My arms aren't scraped." Levi replied, tugging off his coat and folding it on the table. "They just hurt from the landing."

"That's a relief." Eren took out gauze, cotton balls, and a tube of Neosporin.

"Shoot, we need to rinse out your wound…" Eren bit his lip. "You'll need to… t-take off your pants."

Levi gave Eren a cold stare. "What are you, five?"

Eren looked away while Levi shed his jeans and folded them up.

"You know, we should have done this in the bathroom." Levi said disparagingly, not wanting to ruin the cleanliness of the room. "I don't know about you, but I don't like blood in my food."

"Mikasa was in the bathroom!" Eren was beet red. "I don't want you in there with her, you pervert!"

"What the fuck?" Levi narrowed his eyes at Eren. "As if I'm into little brats."

"J-Just shut up and let me clean your wounds." Eren's nostrils flared, and the tips of his ears were red.

_What the fuck?_

Eren filled a bowl with cold water and grabbed a washcloth. He knelt back down in front of the half-naked man, trying his hardest not to make eye contact with Levi's boxers. He rinsed Levi's scrapes. Levi scrunched his nose at the bloody mess inside the bowl.

Eren opened the Neosporin and spread it on Levi's knees with the cotton balls. He finished with wrapping some gauze around them.

"There." Eren smiled with satisfaction at his handiwork.

Eren left to put the kit away and returned with some plain black sweatpants. "Here, wear these. I'm sure these are small enough for you, seeing as I haven't worn these since I was ten."

Levi scowled at Eren's subtle insult as he put on the pants. "What the hell? Do you have PMS or some shit?"

Eren closed his eyes. "Do I get a thanks for carrying you here and treating your cuts?"

Scoffing, Levi stood up, wincing at the pain. "I don't have time for your silly games. I have stuff to do."

Levi limped out of the kitchen.

"My dad's a doctor, as you know." Eren said, walking behind him. "He taught me how to do first aid when I was little."

Levi turned around. "What are you on about, brat?"

Eren scratched the back of his head nervously. "I never get a chance to help people, since all I am in Shiganshina is a kid that needs to be controlled. I want to do something, I want to help humanity somehow. But, I can't in this town. So… I'm happy when I help others. I helped you, so yeah…"

Eren quickly turned back around to hide his flushed face. "That was really embarrassing to admit, so you better thank me for helping you!"

Levi stared at Eren. "…thanks."

Eren spun back around, only to see Levi attempt to walk back downstairs.

"Carla, do you need help now?" Levi called down to her.

Eren smiled softly and followed him.

To Levi's surprise, all of the other customers were gone, and the closed sign was out on the door.

"Sit, Levi." Carla told him. "To be honest, I didn't call you in so you could work…"

"What?" Levi's eye twitched.

So he trudged through ice and snow, managed to injure himself, and got harassed by a fifteen year old kid for nothing? What a crappy birthday.

Carla looked at Eren. The brunette quickly went around back.

"Now Levi, don't get upset." Carla said, seeing Levi's face.

Eren came back around with a chocolate cake with one candle in the middle.

"Happy birthday!" Carla cried, taking the cake from Eren. "Erwin told me your birthday was on the same day as Christmas. So Eren baked this yesterday."

Levi stared at the cake. "Wow… um, okay. Weird, I've never had birthday cake."

"What?" Eren cried, wide-eyed. "Seriously?!"

"Don't urinate on yourself, brat." Levi spat. "It's nothing special. I never really celebrated my birthday growing up, or Christmas, for that matter. I wasn't as fortunate as you."

Eren wanted to say something, but decided against it.

"Well…" Carla smiled gently. "Here's to your first celebration. Come, sit down."

Levi limped over to the table, sighing. "Though I appreciate the sentiment, I'm not a twelve year old at a birthday party."

"Well, you never were." Carla pointed out.

Levi twitched again. "… just don't sing."

"Deal." Carla laughed, sitting the cake in front of Levi. "Enjoy."

Without another word, Eren went back upstairs to his room to get ready for a monthly event with his friends.

"You think I'm fortunate?" Eren muttered under his breath as he went inside his small closet. "You haven't lived here long enough."

* * *

Levi stared outside as the snow didn't let up at all. He's been inside the bakery for two hours. The sun had already set, and the moon illuminated the dark sky. Levi glanced at the staircase. Eren did not come back downstairs at all.

"Levi?" Carla spoke.

Levi looked up at her. "Yeah?"

"It's getting pretty late. I can give you a ride home if you'd like." Carla said kindly. "And don't worry about your jeans. I can patch them up to make them good as new."

Levi stood up. "Ah, sure. Thanks. And thanks for… the cake."

"No problem." Carla replied. "Stay here. I'll be right back."

Carla walked back upstairs to grab her car keys. Levi looked back out the window as he slipped on his coat. Then, something caught his eye. Someone was climbing down the side of the bakery from the second floor.

Levi squinted his eyes as he walked towards the door. The figure was walking away briskly into the night.

Levi quickly exited the bakery and followed him, ignoring the slight pain in his legs.

_Who the hell is that? A thief?_

Carla walked back downstairs.

"Sorry Levi. I had to check on Eren and Mikasa before I-"

Carla stopped when she saw Levi was gone. "Levi?"

**~.~.~.~.~.**

Levi continued to follow the figure.

_Why am I even doing this? Why am I following someone around in the cold? Fuck my childhood instincts._

The figure met up with a shorter one two blocks later.

"Don't tell me that trick worked again?" The shorter figure groaned.

"Believe it, Armin. Pillows under the sheets always works."

Levi stopped walking. _No way… Eren?!_

"You're gonna get caught one day. Then what'll you do?" Armin asked.

"I'll just roll with it."

Levi snarled. He considered walking back to Erwin's house and pretend he didn't see anything. He also considered grabbing Eren, beat the crap out of him, and drag him back to Carla. However, he didn't do either one. Instead, he continues to follow them.

_Let's see what the youth of this fine town does on late Friday nights._

Levi felt the pain in his legs die away as he focused his attention on the hooded teenagers. Eventually, they came to a dark and seemingly abandoned house.

"You keeping watch tonight?" Eren asked his friend.

"Of course. I already told you I don't want to participate. I'm on lookout after Jean, though, so I guess I'll head downstairs with you." Armin replied.

_Participate? Participate in what?_

"Sup, horse face." Eren greeted a tall teen by the door sarcastically. The boy hiccupped.

"Jean, don't tell me you drank on the job." Armin groaned.

"Shut uuuup." Jean Kirstein snapped, obviously intoxicated. "Get your asses inside before someone sees you!"

"But the bottle down." Eren snapped. "You're damn lucky your shift ends now. Armin, let's go inside for a sec."

Eren and Armin disappeared inside. Narrowing his eyes, Levi stepped to the front door, staring Jean down.

"Marco!" Jean cried, putting an arm around Levi. "Damn, you've shrunk! Well, go inside! The party's already started."

"Disgusting creep." Levi shoved Jean's arm off and stalked inside.

"That's soooooo hot!" Jean hooted.

Levi stumbled around in the dark house. "Where the fuck did they go?" He seethed.

Levi heard loud music booming from below the ground. After walking around for a good ten minutes, he found a door leading the house's basement. As soon as he opened it, the music got considerably louder.

"The hell…?" Levi walked down the small flight of stairs to see a large group of teenagers dancing under a disco ball. Loud 80s music bounced off the walls. The kids were laughing, shouting, and messing around. They weren't wearing their high school uniforms. Most of the girls had hiked up skirts and most of the guys had on black.

From the way they were acting and the bottles being tipped back or thrown on the floor, Levi concluded that they were all drinking. Levi stepped through the crowd. Due to his youthful face, most of the teens that weren't as drunk figured Levi was a newcomer.

"Sasha! How's the brewing coming along?" Levi heard Eren ask a dark brown haired girl.

"Just fine!" Sasha Braus giggled. "I didn't even have to steal the ingredients this time! My parents had them in the house."

Levi looked over to see Sasha brewing ingredients for beer. _How the fuck did she learn this?!_

"This batch will be ready in about a week." Sasha continued. "In the nick of time for our New Years' party."

"Awesome!" Eren turned away to walk over to another friend of his.

Levi had to look twice at Eren's outfit. After tossing his coat away, Eren showed off his leather pants and a white Bon Jovi tank top. It was completely 80s.

Levi had to admit, despite being wrong on so many levels, Eren looked way too good to be a fifteen year old brat. Just what is going on?

Eren grabbed a bottle of beer off a table and chugged it down.

"Gah, it's strong this time." Eren said afterwards.

"Yo, Eren! Historia just brought in a bunch of your stress reliever!" A tall blond slapped Eren on the back.

"Great!" Eren sighed in relief. "Where are they at, Reiner?"

"Over here." Reiner led the brunette away.

Levi deliberately followed Eren, wondering what this "stress reliever" was.

"Ymir, is it ready?" Eren asked a tall brunette.

They had walked to another corner of the huge basement. Ymir and Annie were rolling… blunts?!

"Here, Jaeger." Annie deadpanned, handing him a blunt and a match.

"Sweet!"

Deciding he had had enough, Levi stormed over to Eren and grabbed his arm, dragging him away. Ymir, Annie, and Reiner were looking down, so they didn't notice Eren get taken away.

"What the- Levi?!" Eren cried, shocked. "What the hell?!"

"Shut up." Levi snapped coldly, pushing him in front. "Grab your fucking coat and excuse yourself, _now_."

"Fuck you." Eren spat adamantly.

_Slap._

Levi had no idea why he decided to slap Eren across the face, but he did it. Why? Was it because Eren was involved in illegal activities? That he was lying to his kind mother? Or… maybe because Eren reminded Levi of his foolish younger self.

Eren gave Levi a deathly glare before doing what he was told. He snatched his coat up and put it on. Levi grabbed Eren by the arm again and led him out. However, Eren passed Armin and Jean on the way out. Furious, he tugged his arm from Levi's grip and went for Jean.

"You had one fucking job, Jean! To keep adults _out_!" Eren screamed.

"Eren!" Armin quickly stood in front of the intoxicated teen.

The blond then saw Levi, and his mouth gaped.

"Armin, tell no one this guy was here. Not a _soul_." Eren warned his friend lowly. "That drunk bastard will forget. We worked hard to get to this point, so don't tell anyone we were infiltrated."

"O-Okay…" Armin stammered, stepping aside to let Eren and Levi pass.

Eren was read to fight as soon as they were a safe distance away from the party house.

"You bastard!" Eren shouted at Levi. "Why did you follow me here?! You need to fucking mind your own business!"

Without saying a word, Levi grabbed the collar of Eren's coat and shoved him against the wall of a closed building. His steely eyes bore holes into Eren.

"Shut your fucking mouth." Levi said lowly. "Who do you think you are talking to me like that? Obviously your mother didn't teach you better. Or maybe it's the fact that your father isn't around to see his pathetic excuse of a son take part in illegal shit."

Eren's face scrunched up. Levi knew it was a low blow, but at least he knew for sure Eren was listening to him.

"You're fifteen. You're a kid. Why are you smoking blunts and drinking?" Levi asked, not letting up on the pressure. "You told me you wanted to help people, right? Is this how you do it? By getting your friends high and letting them get alcohol poisoning?"

Eren grabbed Levi's wrist. "It's none of your damn business! And it never will be. And how dare you call me pathetic! You don't know me! So get your hands off of me!"

Levi let go, and Eren brushed past Levi. "I'm going back home today, but you better not tell anyone about this." Eren said. "If you report us, you will regret it. We worked too hard to have our small monthly night of freedom be taken away by a midget from the capital."

"You're in no position to be making threats." Levi replied icily. "If I had a good mind, I would treat you like I treated punks like you in my old neighborhood. But then I would be on trial for _murder_."

Eren gasped. "What?!"

"Good night and fuck you." Levi walked away from the bewildered brunette.

_This town is more twisted than I thought. Just what is going on? How did these kids learn how to brew beer and roll blunts?! And their clothes… out of all the stores I've been in, there was nothing wild. Something's not right here. And I'll get to the bottom of it on my own._

* * *

**Ha, get why the chapter name was called "Blunt"? Because they were smoking them, and Levi was being blunt to Eren. Ha… puns.**

**So the plot has thickened! Not only is Shiganshina a radically religious town, but the teens have some sort of underground stuff going on, too. And what happens when Levi starts his teaching job and sees familiar faces? You'll find out next chapter! :D**

**Shameless promotion time! I recently released my third out three stories I'm writing this summer called Let's Play: Eren and Levi. So feel free to check it out!**

**If you've liked the story so far, add this to your favorites and alerts.**

**And remember...**

**REVIEWS ARE LIKE PORN TO WRITERS, SO SATISFY OUR URGES!**

**I really appreciate feedback. See you in the next one!**

**PRK**


	4. Schoolhouse Shock

**Hey guys! Thanks for the reviews, faves, and alerts! I appreciate them! Hugs!**

**So, now that Eren and Levi know an unwanted secret about each other, how will their tension grow when they have to see each other in school too?  
**

**Good news! I'm actually studying Japanese (minoring in it in college this year~), and I already know two years' worth. So I won't need to use Google Translate when Levi really starts teaching. So no one can tease me anymore! Yay for accuracy! **

**Enjoy the chapter~**

* * *

_**Chapter 4 **__Schoolhouse Shock_

_**Two Weeks Later…**_

Levi looked in the bathroom mirror and tugged at his dress shirt collar to loosen it slightly. Today was his first day as a teacher at Shiganshina High School. He is one for making good impressions, so he had to make sure he looked his best.

Erwin helped Levi purchase dress pants, shirts, shoes, and ties for the job. That morning, Levi decided to wear a simple white dress shirt with black dress pants and shoes. He finished the look with a black tie. His pants had a skinny fit, just the way he liked it. He hates loose clothing.

After brushing his hair and teeth, Levi walked out of the bathroom and into the kitchen. Erwin had left earlier than usual that morning, but left a pot of coffee brewing for Levi. After pouring a mug and sweetening it with generic brand sweetener, Levi looked over his roster and the curriculum her wrote out for the class himself.

"Heh… only twelve people signed up." Levi mused. "Oh well. A smaller class will be easier to manage anyway."

Levi rinsed out his coffee mug and quickly washed it before leaving for SHS. He neatly placed all of his school materials inside a leather shoulder bag and hoisted it around him. Luckily, the roads were not slicked with ice, so Levi walked over to his motorcycle. He managed to fix the engine so it wouldn't be so loud. However, he was still under the watchful eye of Nile Dok.

Levi revved up his bike and took off towards the high school. Teachers were required to arrive at the school an hour before the students, so Levi did not have to deal with the kids that shouted at him again. When Levi sped past the Maria Bakery, he saw lights on in the bakery section.

_Carla's already up, huh? Heh… that brat must still be sleeping._

Ehen Levi arrived at SHS, he parked in teacher parking and hurried inside the school with his shoulder bag. SHS is a pretty big school. It is two stories, and educates the entire teenage population of Shiganshina. Approximately 1,000 students.

He knew where his classroom would be, so Levi quickly walked upstairs into B Hall.

"Okay… B535…" Levi murmured.

When he arrived, Levi noticed a sticky note on the door. He pulled it all and read it.

_Mr. Ackerman,_

_Come on by the teacher's lounge. The other teachers want to meet you. We have coffee and donuts._

_Principal Pixis_

Levi sighed, crumpling the note up. Levi walked inside his newly acquired classroom. It was bare. Completely bare. No posters were on the walls. The walls were a sickly cream color. The carpet was grey. This room was in serious need of remodeling. He clicked his tongue. This would not do. Sure he was clean, but he wasn't boring as fuck.

Deciding to deal with that later, Levi quickly dropped his stuff off before heading back out. He vaguely remembered the teacher's lounge being somewhere near Pixis' office, so he would start there. As Levi suspected, he heard chatter. He walked in the room next to Pixis' office. The female teachers were mostly wearing long skirts and blouses. The male ones had on sweaters and dress pants.

They were drinking coffee and talking amongst themselves. One of them turned around and spotted Levi.

"Mr. Ackerman! Welcome to Shiganshina High School." She smiled brightly.

"Thanks." Levi deadpanned. "You can just call me Levi."

The teacher scrunched up her nose. "We try to teach the children that in school, we must remain formal and respectful with the adults. Informality is for after school. So thus, the teacher calls each other 'Mr', 'Miss', or 'Mrs' during school hours."

"…oh."

He looked to the left to see some of the male teachers looking at him, judging his skinny fit dress pants. What were they, a bunch of snotty girls?

Levi's attention was brought back when another female teacher walked up to him.

"Since this is your first day teaching freshman, let me warn you about some of them." She said to him. "I am not the gossiping type, but there is some distinct trouble that the school is trying to deal with."

Levi raised an eyebrow. "Okay…"

"First off is Eren Jaeger."

"What about him?" Levi asked, his eyes narrowing slightly.

"He is the most rebellious of them all. He tends to be late, lazy, and has a horrible mouth! He also picks fights with other boys, mainly Jean Kirstein. Eren has been on church probation twice this semester. And speaking of Jean…" The teacher shuddered and shook her head, as if she would be condemned to hell if she spoke.

Levi waited for her to say something. _And this is not considered gossip? Hypocrite.  
_

"He and another boy, Marco Bodt, were caught doing… unspeakable acts against God." She put her hand over her heart. "And because of it, they are not allowed to be near each other, in school and out of school. They are now required to go to prayer twice a week until the desire for each other is gone. That is the only time they are next to each other. It's a real shame. Marco has the second highest GPA, and he was so sweet and respectable. Now thanks to Jean, he's turned into a sinner."

Levi was put off. He remembered Jean mentioning someone named Marco at the underground party. "What could they have done that was so horrible?"

"They…" The teacher trailed off, but quickly took out the pen from behind her ear and scribbled it down on her napkin. She handed it to him.

Levi looked down at the note.

_They were caught kissing and touching each other inappropriately in the boy's bathroom._

"…and how is this sinful?" Levi asked.

"Homosexuality is an abomination before God!" The teacher cried, exasperated.

"But they weren't having sex, right? The law here says that it's against sex before marriage." Levi frowned. "So how were they breaking the town's law?"

"The Bible is also the law." The teacher told him. "And in this school, that is our policy."

The teacher babbled on about other students Levi didn't know. How Sasha Blouse is a glutton, Annie Leonhart is cold-hearted, Connie Springer has a horrible attitude, and…

"Historia Reiss! If angels were tangible, she would be one!" The teacher mused. "She is the perfect Christian. Kind, respectful, turns in all of her assignments, gets straight A's, and goes to every church service, which is three times a week!" Her eyes narrowed. "She spends her time with the bum Ymir. Ymir is such a horrible influence. I just hope Historia's angelic nature rubs off on her. Oh, and also, there is the biology teacher that came in two years ago. She is-"

"It's 7:50! The kids will be coming in soon." A male teacher announced.

As soon as he said that, Levi abandoned the teacher's lounge. He will never be going there again. He was two seconds away from popping her in the mouth.

_That lady is nuts. This school is nuts. This __**town**__ is nuts! There is nothing wrong with these kids. They're acting like normal kids! And these damn teachers are acting like they're demons. And Historia… she was the one delivering the marijuana. She's not as angelic as they think. I just wish they wouldn't drink and get high. They're too young for that. They're going to end up just like I me: hitting rock bottom._

Before he knew it, he was back in his room. There was already a girl inside, sitting in the front row of desks on the far right of the room. She had blond hair and big blue eyes.

"What's your name?" Levi asked, taking out a sheet with empty spaces on them to fill out the official roster.

"Historia Reiss." She replied sweetly.

Levi's eyes widened. "Oh… okay." He shook off his surprise and wrote the name in. "We're sitting in alphabetical order for-"

"I know, Mr. Ackerman." Historia smiled brightly. "We do that in every class. I'm already in the correct seat."

"Oh… kay." This school keeps getting weirder and weirder. "I have blunt- I mean, _brought_, textbooks for the class. You will get one as soon as everyone is here."

Historia tilted her head to the side curiously. "Okay."

As the minutes ticked by, more and more students filed in quietly. And of course, all of them were going in certain seats, probably in alphabetical order.

Then, Jean Kirstein walked in. Levi quickly looked straight. The tall sandy haired teen sat in the middle of the second row.

"Hey Jean, how was prayer last night?" A boy with a shaved head smirked.

"Shut up, Connie." Jean hissed. "It was the same as always: boring and a waste of time."

Another boy walked in. He was slightly taller than average, and he had black hair and freckles. All conversation stopped. Levi looked around, not sure what the hell was going on. Then he noticed Jean staring at the boy, and the boy staring back. Ducking his head, the freckled boy sat behind the brunette girl in the first row.

_That must be Marco Bodt._ Levi concluded.

Conversation started up again as if nothing happened. Then a tall brunette girl walked in, her eyes vacant. When she spotted Historia, however, she was overjoyed.

"Historia! You're in this class too?" She hurried over to the blond, hugging her tightly. "I'm so happy!"

"It's nice to see you too, Ymir." Historia giggled cutely. "So how was your winter vacation?"

Levi scanned the class of uniform-wearing students. They seemed like a slightly lively bunch.

With one minute to go until the late bell rang, Levi stared at two empty seats. One was in the very front of the first row, and one was in front of Jean.

_Where are these two?_

"Eren! You've made us late _again_!" A familiar voice shouted at a distance.

Levi's eyes widened. _No… it can't be._

Just as the bell rang, Armin Arlert and Eren Jaeger ran inside the classroom, panting.

"Not late!" Eren puffed, slapping Armin on the back.

"Jaeger! Do you have any idea how many times you've been late for school this year?" Jean called him out.

"Well, I don't think it's been more than once a day." Eren smirked, looking up.

He froze when he saw his new teacher. Armin froze as well, fearing for his life.

"What are you two idiots doing? Sit down." Levi rolled his eyes.

The class giggled as Eren and Armin sat in their designated seats. Eren stared Levi down, as if he thought Levi would bring up the party. Levi ignored his glares and stood in front of the small podium.

"Well, we have lively roster here." Levi began. "_Ohayougozaimasu._ Good morning. I am Levi Ackerman. Thanks for enrolling in Japanese. You've given me a job."

The class giggled again.

"Today, I will make sure I know all of your names, we will go over the syllabus for this class, and we'll be going over basic Japanese mannerisms and introductions."

Levi stepped out from behind the podium with his sheet walking over to the first row. "Since you all took the liberty of placing yourselves in order, I'll just go by row. Name?" Levi stared at Armin.

"A-Armin Arlert." The blond stammered nervously.

Levi didn't say word. He just scribbled down his name and looked at the girl behind her. "Name?"

The girl's mouth was full. She was obviously sneaking food in her mouth. Everyone did their best to contain their laughter as she quickly chewed in swallowed.

"I'm Sasha Blouse!" She said enthusiastically. "Sorry about that, I was in the middle of eating when you asked my name."

The entire class face palmed at her frankness. Levi clicked his tongue as he wrote down her name. "In Japanese high schools, eating during class is not allowed. But I'm willing to let up, so if any of you want to eat or drink something, just ask me. I know what it's like not having time to eat in the morning."

Everyone gasped.

"We can _seriously_ eat in class?!" Sasha asked, shocked.

"Only if you ask. And we'll learn how to ask for permission to do something a little later in the semester." Levi replied.

"Best class ever!" Sasha grinned.

Levi looked at Marco, who shifted uncomfortably. "Name?"

"Marco Bodt." Marco did his best to smile, but it was weak. He still had his mind on Jean.

Levi went down all the rows, asking for names.

"Reiner Braun."

"Bertolt Hoover."

Levi stared at Eren. "Name?"

Eren's glare intensified. "Eren fucking Jaeger."

"Eren!" Armin cried.

Levi had already written down Eren's name. "Well, Eren fucking Jaeger, you've just landed yourself a cleaning job. You are to come in _early_ tomorrow morning and clean this entire room. Maybe the Windex will sterilize your foul mouth."

Eren scowled while the rest of the class whispered amongst themselves.

"Did the teacher just swear back?"

"This guy is obviously not from here."

Levi looked at Jean.

"Jean Kirstein." The long faced teen said boredly.

"You mean horse face." Eren spat.

Jean slammed his hand on his desk. "Eren, I swear to Go-"

"Golly!" Marco suddenly shouted.

Jean closed his mouth and sat back in his seat, realizing that Marco just saved him. Not only is swearing not allowed, but it is forbidden to say "I swear to God." It's like asking for a death sentence with the school's disciplinary staff.

"Everyone do me a favor and shut up while I'm taking attendance." Levi said, irritated. "If I hear one more wisecrack from _any _of you, the entire class will be joining Eren tomorrow morning in cleaning the classroom."

The class was dead silent. Satisfied, Levi continued taking roll.

"Annie Leonhart"

"Historia Reiss."

"Connie Springer."

"Thomas Wagner."

"Ymir."

Levi looked at Ymir curiously. "Just Ymir?"

"Yeah." The tall brunette shrugged.

"That's fine. I don't like to use my last name much either. Which means," Levi looked at the entire class. "I don't like being called Mr. Ackerman. It honestly makes me feel like an old man."

"But you _are_ an old man."

"Jaeger, stand outside in the hall." Levi glowered. "I will address you in a minute."

Sighing grouchily, Eren stood up and walked out, slamming the door behind him.

"I-I'm sorry for Eren's behavior." Armin spoke up. "He's usually not this tenacious with his rudeness. It must be because you're new here. He's not this bad with others."

"I'm sure." Levi exhaled. "Like I was saying, don't call me Mr. Ackerman. At all. I know this school wants you to, but I don't. I don't mind being informal with you all. You can call me Levi. Or Levi-sensei. Sensei is the Japanese word for teacher. The only time you will ever be using 'Ackerman-sensei' is if it is in writing. So is that clear?"

"Yeah." The class mumbled at different times.

"Good. Also, you don't have to be completely formal with me. I tend to swear, so I'll allow it. As long as you don't offend anyone too horribly. So, I have textbooks for you all in the front of the classroom. You can all grab one now and look through it if you'd like. I will be right back."

Levi walked out of the classroom and shut the door behind him. Eren was leaning against the wall with his hands stuffed in his pockets. Levi stood in front of the brunette menacingly.

"Do not test my patience, Jaeger." Levi growled. "I will not allow you to cause chaos in my class. You are the student. I am your teacher. Deal with it. If you have a bone to pick with me, save it for after school. Then I'll have no problem kicking the crap out of you, Mr. Tough Guy. You haven't seen tough. Trust me. Now get back in that damn classroom before I mess you up."

Eren brushed past Levi and stormed back inside. Levi calmly went in after him, shutting the door softly. "Does everyone have books?"

Eren angrily stomped back up to the front, grabbed the last textbook, and went back to his seat.

"Good. Write your names on the inside." Levi told them. "Okay, so let's move on…"

_**~.~.~.~.~.**_

The hour long lesson ended as soon as it started. When the bell rang, the students were all talking about how cool Levi is. As Eren walked out, Levi whispered to him. "See you at the bakery, Eren fucking Jaeger."

Eren ignored him, hurrying out with Armin.

Levi spotted Jean still packing out and Marco about to leave.

"Marco. Stay here for a sec. You too, Jean." Levi told them.

Jean sighed, and Marco just looked nervous. The two walked up to Levi, making sure they were standing at least three feet from each other.

"Get closer together so I can talk to you properly." Levi told them.

They inched closer together, not make eye contact.

"I-I know. We're not supposed to be near each other." Marco blurted out. "We're far away alphabetically, so it'll be fine!"

Levi raised a hand, silencing the freckled boy. "If you ever need a safe place to talk about your situation, or need to place for you two to be together, just let me know and you stay in here."

Jean and Marco's eyes were as wide as dinner plates. "W-What?"

"There is nothing wrong with being who you are." Levi said. "Even if no one else does, I support you 100%. As one gay to another, you can find a friend in me."

"So you're…?" Jean trailed off.

"Yes. Do not tell _anybody _about these arrangements." Levi instructed them sternly. "And be sure to tell me before class if you want to stay. I will stay too and make sure no one interferes."

Tears welled up in Marco's eyes, but he quickly blinked them away. "Is it really okay…?"

Levi nodded.

"Thank you." Marco smiled widely, looking up at Jean. "Do you mind if we stay today? We don't have to go to prayer today."

"Of course. I'll make arrangements. Now go to class." Levi smiled slightly.

Jean and Marco awkwardly said goodbye to each other before walking in opposite directions.

Levi walked to his desk chair and sat down, sighing in relief that his first and only class went relatively well. There is one bump he needs to iron out with Eren. But that was about it.

_I know I'm doing something dangerous. I could wind up in a lot of trouble by letting them meet up in here. But you can't force two people not to see each other if they don't want to. No matter what their sexual orientation is. That is unjust and discriminatory. _

Levi ran a hand through his hair. Shaking his head, Levi got on the school computer and started creating worksheets and activities for his class.

_I don't have to be at the bakery until 4, so I just wait around here until Jean and Marco come._

Levi felt uneasy as he busied himself.

_What is this sinking feeling I'm having?_

* * *

**Schoolhouse Shock. Ha… puns.**

**Levi's class is actually inspired by my own high school experiences. Not the extreme religion, but the sass you got from Eren Jaeger. You know that one kid that always tries to sass the teacher? Yeah. XD Have any of you had those teachers that didn't care if you swore? If so, high five!  
**

**Consider this chapter a 'part 1.' The next chapter will continue this idea, with Jean and Marco sharing their experience with Levi and Levi having a heart to heart with Eren, finding out why he is so angry and rebellious. Yay! And you'll find out in later chapters why this town is so crazy. I'm dropping subtle hints here and there.**

**I uploaded chapter 2 of Let's Play: Eren and Levi a few days ago, and chapter 4 of Eyes of the Beholder was posted last week, so check them out if you want~!**

**If you've liked the story so far, add this to your favorites and alerts.**

**And remember...**

**REVIEWS ARE LIKE PORN TO WRITERS, SO SATISFY OUR URGES!**

**I really appreciate feedback. See you in the next one!**

**PRK**


	5. Confessions

**HUMP DAAAAAY! Sorry not sorry. XD**

**It's Wednesday, so I was like, I should make you guys happy and update! Cuz I love doing that!**

**Thank you so much for all the reviews, faves, and alerts! Muah! I appreciate them!**

**Prepare for more drama in this chapter! **

**Enjoy~  
**

* * *

_**Chapter 5 **__Confessions_

Levi tapped his foot impatiently as he waited for Jean and Marco to come to his classroom. He wanted to be as discreet as possible so he wouldn't lose his job on the first day. Luckily, the classroom doors did not have windows on them. Even though that's great for Jean and Marco's meeting, Levi was a little uncomfortable with that in general. No one can see what's going on in a classroom.

The bell releasing school had rung, and kids were filing out of their last classes, laughing and talking to their friends. Jean was the first to enter Levi's classroom. He looked nervous and unsure.

"Sit in the back." Levi instructed him. "So no nobody will see you and get suspicious."

Jean nodded and did as he was told. By that time, he had broken out in a cold sweat, and he was twitching anxiously. Levi couldn't just sit there and watch Jean psych himself out.

"Jean, I promise you, everything will be okay." Levi said, facing his student. "I will go down in a blaze of glory before I let you and Marco get in any sort of trouble. And think about this. In three years, you will be eighteen. And even the small government can't stop you from leaving this place. If they tried, that would be breaking the national law."

"I don't think I can leave." Jean looked down. "My parents signed a contract with the city. Everyone's parents signed a contract. No one can move out of the city _ever_."

Levi frowned. "Even though you had nothing to do with the contract?"

"Yeah." Jean replied sadly. "Have you signed a contract, Levi?"

He shook his head. "No, I haven't. Probably because I don't live in a house of my own. I live with a friend, so I don't have an actual residence."

"You're lucky." Jean sighed. "I don't know why you would willingly choose to live here."

"I had no choice." Levi told him. "I was in bad shape before now. And actually, I'm glad I'm here. If I hadn't come, who would support you and Marco?"

Jean smiled slightly. "Yeah… I guess you're right. It's just that… Marco didn't deserve any of this. He is an angel. A saint. The sweetest person you'd ever meet. The students call him Freckled Jesus for crying out loud."

Before Levi could reply, Marco walked in, clutching his books tightly to his chest. He stared at Jean and bit his lip.

"Go on, sit in the back with him." Levi said, standing up from his desk chair to shut the door.

Marco hesitantly inched towards Jean, not sure if this was really happening or not. He refused to make eye contact with him. Jean stood up, walked up to Marco, and wrapped his arms in a tight bear hug. The only things separating them were Marco's books.

"J-Jean!" Marco yelped, his face flushed.

Jean rested his head over the shorter boy's shoulder. "I'm sorry… it's just been way too long since I've hugged you. I miss you, Marco."

"I…" Marco's cheeks turned redder. "I've missed you too."

Jean released Marco. He then looked over at Levi. "Sorry. I… I really just had the urge to hold him."

Levi waved Jean's apology off. "Don't even worry about it. Now, both of you sit down."

Jean and Marco sat in desks next to each other. Levi sat on top of one of the desks.

"Now, if you're comfortable with it, I want to hear your side of why you two can't see each other." Levi requested. "I pretty much figure that the teachers are just full of shit. I trust you guys more than I do them."

Jean looked at Marco.

"It's okay… we can tell him." Marco assured Jean. "Everyone else has the wrong idea about us. At least Mr… I mean, Levi, wants the truth."

"Okay." Jean sat up straight and faced his teacher. "It all started two years ago. Marco and I were classmates in middle school. We had been close. Best friends, even. And… it was weird." Jean looked at Marco. "I had always been attracted to girls. During that time, I had a crush on Eren's sister, Mikasa. She's bedridden at the moment, so I used to walk home with Eren and visit her every day. But something changed. I started to have weird feelings for Marco. The same feelings I had with Mikasa."

Jean reached out and took Marco's hand. "I just wanted to be with him, all the time. When we were apart, I was really gloomy. Whenever we brushed each other's hands, or I see him smile, I would get nervous and end up blushing. In eighth grade, we were alone one time. By then, I knew I had feelings for Marco. I had no idea how to express it to him. So I did what parents do. I kissed him. And luckily for me, he didn't reject me."

Marco laughed softly. "Before I met Jean, I never had feelings for girls or guys. I just never did. But, beneath all of his arrogance, cockiness, and mocking behavior, I found a great guy."

"Hey! Don't compliment and make fun of me at the same time." Jean punched Marco's arm lightly.

Levi was moved. Those kids were expressing normal signs of love. They aren't any different from any other teenagers. Why were they persecuted so harshly?"

"We… knew according to the bible, our love for each other was wrong." Marco said, downcast. "But we couldn't just walk away from our feelings. So we tried to keep our meetings a secret from everyone, even our friends. But… we were caught at the beginning of this school year."

"It was my fault." Jean squeezed his eyes shut. "I don't know what I was thinking. One afternoon, we were in the boy's bathroom. We… had started kissing, but for some reason, I had the urge to touch him. I don't know why, I just did. And Marco let out a moan, which alerted one of the teachers walking by the bathroom."

"Jean, that was not your fault." Marco told him firmly. "There was no way anyone could have predicted us getting caught. I… I was touching you too."

Levi was stunned. Has anyone talked to them about sexual impulses at all? Do they really not realize that what they did was instinctual?

"You two were just sexually frustrated, that's all." Levi said. "It's completely normal."

"Sexually… frustrated?" Marco tilted his head. "Was that really sex?"

Holy crap. No wonder he was nicknamed Freckled Jesus.

Jean looked just as confused as Marco. "What?"

"Er…" Levi didn't know what to do.

_This is not happening. Are these damn educators so far up their own asses that they didn't even bother to have a sex-ed class? How are these kids supposed to learn about their bodies and their urges if no one fucking talks to them?! Obviously the parents are just as guilty._

"Well… tell me you know the basic concepts of sex." Levi said slowly.

"Yeah. It's how a man and a woman reproduces." Marco replied.

Levi sighed in relief. "Oh thank god-"

"But that's about it. We don't know how it really works." Jean interrupted him. "Some students have some theories. Like, putting your penis in a girl's mouth. Eren saw two teachers in the teacher's lounge doing that one time after school."

Levi wanted to claw his eyes out and bang his head against the door.

"Er… no. That's not the actual process. When people do that, it's called oral sex…" Levi could not believe he is really having this conversation with fifteen year old students.

Marco and Jean looked so interested, it scared him.

"Oral sex?" Marco inquired. "So there are different kinds of sex?"

"Hah, we can tell our Sunday school teacher to shove it." Jean said gleefully. "She only said there's only one kind."

"So what were we doing?" Marco asked Levi. "Pastor Nick said that what we were doing was an abomination."

"You guys were just feeling up each other. Teens do that all the time." Levi explained. "You did nothing wrong."

"Tell me, what kinds of sex are out there?" Jean asked.

_These kids have no shame. _Levi sighed to himself._ Who could blame them? They've lived their entire lives not knowing how sex works. Not even the basic kind between a man and a woman._

"Well… there are kind of three ways to do it." Levi said uneasily. "You can do it between a man and a woman, two men, or two women." He wasn't going to get into how threesomes and foursomes work.

"Wow…" Marco said, intrigued. "They always said sex is between a man and a woman. So they're wrong?"

"We can't say if anyone is right or wrong." Levi told him. "But, you two have been discriminated against and preyed on just because you have feelings for one another. And that's where civil liberties come in. Whether you want to have sex or be in a relationship with a man or a woman is none of the church's business. They shouldn't have butt in and punished you two. You guys weren't even having sex."

Jean crossed his arms. "The church didn't just prey on us. Some of the students did too. Including Jaeger."

Levi was surprised. "Really?"

"Yeah." Marco replied unhappily. "And I don't understand why. All three of us were good friends. Sure, Jean and Eren horsed around a lot-"

"Marco!"

"No pun intended."

"Fine."

"They teased each other a lot, but we were all still the best of friends." Marco continued. "So I don't know what happened. I guess he just doesn't believe in homosexuality."

Levi was not happy. _Jaeger is the most rebellious and the most likely to break any kind of rule. I would have thought that he would have supported them the most. What's his problem? I guess I'll talk to him later._

"So… how does sex work between two guys?" Jean piped up.

_Oh god…_

_**~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~**_

By the time Jean and Marco left for home, Levi had taught them the birds and the bees and everything in between.

"When I was fifteen, all of the guys were horny little bastards that told dirty jokes whenever they could." Levi muttered, slipping on his jacket. "These kids don't even know what horny _means_."

Levi locked the classroom door behind him before leaving the school. On his way out, he could see Eren leaving the library.

"Eren." Levi called out to him.

The brunette looked up for a second. After seeing who it was, Eren kept walking.

"Eren, _stop_." Levi commanded sternly.

Sighing in frustration, Eren stopped walking. "What the fuck do you want, Levi?" He snapped. "I have shit to do."

"Eren, everyone knows you don't do your homework." Levi replied snippily. "So quit trying to bullshit me."

After closing his eyes and taking a deep breath, Eren walked over to Levi. "What?"

"You and I are going to take a little stroll." Levi told him. "I need to talk to you about Marco and Jean."

Eren stiffened. "What about them?"

"Walk with me."

The two left the school building. Levi decided to come back and retrieve his motorcycle later. He had pressing matters to deal with.

The two were quiet for a few minutes as they headed towards the bakery.

"Why do you bully Marco and Jean?" Levi asked.

"I-I don't bully them!" Eren shouted defensively. "They brought their misfortune upon themselves."

"For what, being gay?" Levi pressed.

Eren was silent for a few seconds. "…yeah." Eren mumbled.

"Eren, you _can't_ bring your sexual orientation upon yourself. You're either born straight, or you're born gay. They just happened to figure it out at an unfortunate time and age." Levi replied. "And you, Eren, should know exactly how they feel. You yearn for freedom. To live life however you want. So you picking on them is a direct contradiction to your own attitude. That's why I think there's a different reason why you're messing with them."

Eren refused to make eye contact with Levi. "Oh, so you think you suddenly know me or something?" He asked condescendingly.

"No. But I observe." Levi replied. "So tell me. Why are you bullying them? What could you possibly gain by making their lives even more miserable? Do you have an ulterior motive? Like for example… you have feelings for one of them?"

"What?!" Eren's face flushed. "No. _Fuck_ no! I'm not gay! And I don't have feelings for either of them! _Especially _horse face! It's his fault that I have to-"

Eren stopped talking, realizing that he revealed too much.

"What did Jean ever do to you?" Levi inquired. "What could he have done that was so horrible that you feel the need to go so low and torment him and his crush?"

"He broke my sister's heart, alright?" Eren shouted.

Levi's eyebrows flew up. "Mikasa? What? He told me that he used to have a crush on her… oh." He finally put two and two together.

"At first, Mikasa rejected his feelings." Eren clenched his fists. "And she had good reason to. He was acting like a fool, and she thought he was taking advantage of her since she has to stay in bed. She thought he was just joking around. But gradually… she softened up to him. She realized that he was being serious. So, when the school year began, she planned on telling him that she accepted his feelings.

"But… he never came by again. Then when the entire school found out about Marco and Jean, I did my best to keep it a secret from her, but it was no use. She had talked on the phone with Sasha. Sasha didn't know that Mikasa now had feelings for Jean. She was devastated."

Eren stopped walking. "I'll never forgive him for that. He is now and will always be my enemy."

Levi sighed. "Wow… you really are an immature brat."

"Shut up!" Eren seethed. "Says who?"

"Says me." Levi retorted. "What do you think would have happened if Jean and Mikasa got together? Once you're born, you can never change your sexual preference. In Jean's case, he may be attracted to both men and women, seeing as he was attracted to girls before he and Marco got serious. But obviously his feelings for Marco overpowered his for Mikasa's. I'm telling you now, if he and Mikasa got together, there would be two results. Either he would have been seeing Marco behind her back, or he would have broken up with her eventually. Jean and Marco saved Mikasa a lot of heartache."

Eren trembled. "But… my sister…"

"That is _no _reason to take your anger out on them. They did Mikasa a favor." Levi frowned. "As your teacher, and as a guy giving out some advice, I suggest you apologize to them tomorrow. I'm going to let you guys sit wherever you want, but I want you to sit near Jean and Marco. From what I've been told, you guys used to be great friends. Don't let their biological fondness for each other get in the way of that. Accept it, and love them anyway."

"…fine." Eren muttered.

Levi couldn't help but smile a little at the breakthrough. These teens don't need church probation, strict teachers, and the bible shoved down their throats. They just need someone to _talk_ to them. Communication must be a rare delicacy, because no one talks about love and acceptance. Wasn't the main lesson Jesus tried to teach to his people love?

If Levi had someone to just talk to him and not threaten to kill him, he would have turned out a lot better than he did. If you talk, they will listen. Of course, he's not the most patient guy in the world. So if they don't listen, whack them on the head. Or maybe that's just Levi's style.

"Is it true you guys call Marco 'Freckled Jesus'?" Levi asked, trying to lighten the mood.

Eren broke out into a smile. "Heh… yeah. It's because he's always so nice and stuff. He and Historia are both the saints of the school. Sometimes we call her Virgin Mary."

"Pfff…!" Levi did his best to hold back his laughter. "Oh, god… you guys are weird in your own religious sort of way."

"Yeah." The two reached the bakery.

Carla was in front, wiping down the counter.

"Eren! Welcome home- oh, and Levi!" She greeted, spotting Levi with her son.

"Hey. I'll be in Mikasa's room if you need me." Eren said, running up the stairs.

Carla stared behind him, gawking.

"…what's wrong?" Levi asked her.

"He… he never speaks to me when he gets home." Carla replied, still in shock. "Eren usually just ignores my greeting and runs to his room. This is the first time he has responded in months."

Levi cleared his throat. "That reminds me… how often do you and Eren sit down and just talk to each other?"

Carla was surprised at the sudden question. "Honestly… never. Either I'm too busy down here running the bakery, or Eren shuts his door and refuses to come out. The only person he really talks to is Mikasa." She looked down sadly. "We used to be inseparable. But now… he shuts me out."

"I don't want you to think I'm giving you parenting advice, but you should really try to talk to him at least once a day." Levi suggested. "He's a troubled and distant kid. Most teenagers get like that. I was. And even today, I'm distant. That's because my parents never gave a fuck about me. They didn't bother talking to me at all. If you show Eren that you are willing to give up time for him, despite your busy work schedule, he will open up to you again. I promise."

With that, Levi went upstairs to hang up his coat. "I'll be back so I can get work, Carla."

Carla thought about what Levi just told her. _He's absolutely right. I'll do my best, Levi._

Levi poked his head out from above the stairway.

"Oh, and be sure to give him the sex talk." He added. "The teachers aren't gonna do it, and we don't want him to watch the same teachers give a demonstration of how it works in the school's lounge."

"What?!" Carla gasped.

Before she could question him further, Levi disappeared back upstairs.

* * *

**Yay! Levi was the best thing to ever happen to Shiganshina. XD**

**Two words will describe the next chapter: lesbians and tornadoes. You probably already know which two girls I'm talking about. ;) But what do tornadoes have to do with anything? You'll see next chapter. Let's just say that the plot will thicken when Levi's class reveal some stuff to him.**

**You will also meet the "crazy biology teacher." Guess who?**

**If you've enjoyed this so far, add this to your favorites and alerts. And remember…**

**REVIEWS ARE LIKE PORN TO WRITERS, SO SATISFY OUR URGES!**

**See you in the next one!**

**PRK**


	6. Twisted part 1

**Hey guys! Thank you so much for the reviews, favorites, and alerts! I love you all.  
**

**Speaking of reviews, everyone expressed how excited they were for Hanji to make an appearance. Well… I have some bad news. This chapter went in a different direction then what I had anticipated, so her first appearance won't happen until chapter 8. I'm sorry! Please forgive me! But when she does maker her appearance, it will make **_**so**_** much sense, I swear. **

**Also, the tornado is not in this chapter. This is a two part section since the original chapter would have been way too long and taken forever. **

**There is a ton of plot in here. It will be focusing on the relationships between the students, the relationship between Ymir and Historia, and of course the relationship between Levi and his students.**

**Levi and his class will be speaking some Japanese in this chapter. And of course, I did not use a translator. I am not translating on here, since that will make my author's notes longer than they already are. I sneak in translations in the story, so you can catch on. So if you want me to translate something, let me know and I'll send you a PM. :3**

**Enjoy the chapter~!**

* * *

_**Chapter 6 **__Twisted part 1  
_

_**Two months later…**_

"Kyou, omae-tachi ha geemu wo asonde iru." Levi addressed his class.

Everyone's eyes brightened.

"A game, really? We never play games!" Sasha squealed.

Levi sighed. He expected that kind of reaction. Slowly but surely, he was going to expose his students to different methods of learning.

"'We never play games' nan desu ka?" Levi gave her a knowing look.

"Er… Zenzen watashi-tachi ha geemu wo asobanai." Sasha said slowly.

"Ii desu yo." Levi nodded.

Even though he would never admit it, Levi was surprised how quickly his class caught on to Japanese. He had a class of bright students, and he was secretly proud. However, he noticed a few of his students never participated, like Historia, Armin, and Eren. He knows all three of them are smart. To make sure everyone got a chance to display their learned skills, Levi decided to come up with an activity for their current unit.

Levi imagined that Historia and Armin never raised their hand because they were shy. Levi couldn't figure out why Eren was so silent.

Levi glanced at the aforementioned brunette. He wasn't paying attention. Eren was busy spinning his pencil around his fingers, a bored look on his face. Levi scowled. Eren's attitude from two months ago changed tremendously. Before, he would talk to Levi all the time. But now, just like with his mother, he grew distant.

Levi cleared his throat, bringing his attention back to the rest of his students. "So, I am going to assign you into four groups of three. The reason why I'm choosing groups is so everyone's skill can be put to good use. I'm going to name them off."

Levi grabbed his list he wrote before class started. "Group 1: Connie, Jean, and Eren. Group 2: Marco, Armin, and Historia. Group 3: Annie, Sasha, and Bertolt. And Group 4: Reiner, Thomas, and Ymir."

Eren rolled his eyes at Jean. Jean just smirked.

"Okay, everyone get up and follow me. We're going to the gymnasium." Levi told them.

Everyone awkwardly got with their groups and followed their teacher. Levi knew certain people never talked to others, so he purposefully put them together. Levi, being the intellect he is, observed all of his student's personalities.

Connie's assertiveness might be able to hinder Jean and Eren's usual bickering. Annie and Bertolt are quiet people. Sasha's cheerfulness might be able to get them to talk.

Reiner is confident and friendly, but he doesn't hang out with anyone except Annie and Bertolt. Teaming with Thomas and Ymir may help him make new friends, and his and Thomas' approachability may get Ymir to talk to someone other than Historia.

Armin, Marco, and Historia are the shiest of the shy. All three of them are separated from the one person they feel comfortable with. Armin and Marco haven't talked much since it was known that he and Jean were gay. Since Marco is more sociable than the other two, his easygoing nature might help him build teamwork.

Levi smiled smugly to himself, glad that he was able to do this.

Meanwhile, his students were bewildered.

"I wonder why we're going to the gym." Sasha pondered, looking at Bertolt and Annie.

Bertolt's bashfulness caused him to remain silent. Annie sighed.

"Probably to run or some shit." She deadpanned.

Sasha gasped loudly, her eyes widening. "No… no! Not running! My gym teacher Mr. Shadis had me run the entire time yesterday for eating a potato! No more!"

Bertolt chuckled slightly at Sasha's dramatic exclamation. "Levi said it was a game, so I doubt its running."

Sasha sighed in relief. "Whew! I was worried there for a sec."

Eren and Jean glanced at each other.

"I can't believe he made us be on the same team." Eren muttered. "I may have called a truce with you with Mikasa, but we are still rivals."

Jean smirked. "Why, because you know I would have beaten you?"

"As if, twinkle toes. I've always been better at you at competitions." Eren rolled his eyes.

Connie looked back at Jean and Eren, annoyed. "In sixth grade, you got fifth place at the spelling bee, and Jean got sixth. That hardly counts."

Jean laughed while Eren pouted.

"None of that matters. This is just a game so we can get better at Japanese. And besides, we won't even _win_ the game if you two don't shut up."

"Okay, shrimp." Eren grinned mockingly, patting the short teen on the head.

"That's _jumbo_ shrimp to you." Connie huffed.

Levi listened in on the various conversations. Reiner, Thomas, and Ymir were chatting about teachers they didn't like. Armin, Marco, and Historia were completely silent. He hoped this would work. He didn't want a dull class.

Once they arrived at the gym, Levi was relieved that the props he gathered this morning were still there.

"Levi… are you living in the gym or something? Why are there so many chairs?" Ymir asked, raising an eyebrow.

Levi clicked his tongue. "No. This is the game. I put you into four groups of three for a reason. This will determine whether or not you paid attention to our unit: directions. You will create an obstacle course with these chairs. However, you will not be making your own. You will make one for the other team."

Jean and Eren smirked at each other, ready to wreak havoc.

Levi walked over to one of the chairs and picked up a stack of signs. "You will be signs on the chairs, determining where the one person going through the course goes. Of course, the other two team members will be relaying that message in Japanese, as your third member will be blindfolded."

He held up four blindfolds. "There will be three rounds, so everyone has a chance to participate. And remember, you must work together as a _team_ in order to win. Two team members will simultaneously tell your blindfolded teammate where to go. One person will not do all of the work. I have very keen hearing, so I _will _know if someone is cheating." Levi stared at Eren.

"Don't look at me!" Eren snapped, his face flushing. "I don't cheat!"

"Yeah, and I'm an idiot." Levi rolled his eyes. "Both of our statements are obviously false. Now, I have numbered off each column of chairs with your group number. So, go set up someone else's column with the signs and chairs. You have five minutes."

Everyone scrambled to other team columns, thinking of some way to make the obstacle so difficult that everyone will mess up. Marco, Armin, and Historia were the only ones who made a fair course, and it happened to be for Reiner's group. Eren's group, however, did their best to destroy Sasha's group any chance of winning. Sasha's group snuck over to their course and did some potential damage. Sasha even hid a potato under one of the chairs.

Levi put a hand over his mouth to hide his amused smile. They really are acting like typical freshmen. He was relieved that the school didn't brainwash them completely.

"Alright teams, send one of your members up. We don't want them getting a good look at the courses."

The teams sent Connie, Bertolt, Reiner, and Armin up to Levi. He quickly blindfolded them and guided them back to their respective teams.

"Remember, only give them the direction the arrow on the sing says. Don't say 'left' when it actually says 'down'. Jya… hajimemashou!"

Eren and Jean looked at the first chair. The arrow said to go… up?

"Shit, how do they expect Connie to go _over_ a chair blindfolded?" Jean hissed.

"We'll cross the bridge… er, chair, when we get there. First we have to tell him to go straight." Eren replied.

"Okay, I'll start." Jean volunteered. "Connie! Massugu ni itte!"

"Ok." Connie walked forward. He never stopped, and was about to run into the chair.

"Damn, I forgot how to say stop." Eren told Jean.

Eren could feel Levi's eyes boring holes into him, so he quickly tried to remember how to say 'I forgot."

"Uh… boku ha 'stop' wasurerimashita." Eren said.

"'Yamete' desu." Jean replied.

"Connie, uh, yamete!" Eren called to his friend.

Connie stopped just before colliding with the chair. Jean thought about how to say 'go over the chair.'

"Isu no jou ni itte." Jean said slowly.

"What?" Connie cried. "How am I supposed to do that?"

"Itte!" Jean said.

Sighing, Connie felt around for the chair. After getting a firm hold on the chair, Connie struggled to swing his legs over the back of it. It was a comical sight. Marco and Historia looked at Connie then at each other and giggled while Armin tried his best to go under a chair.

Ten minutes into the course, only one group was finished. It was Ymir's group, since Armin's group went easy on their obstacles. They were standing next to Levi, chortling at the other teams' struggles.

"Connie, isu no shita ni itte!" Eren shouted at Connie, who was a little far away.

It was the last chair he had to go under. Connie knelt down and felt around as he went under. As he was crawling, his hands touched a warm object with what felt like lumpy skin.

"What the hell is this?!" Connie cried, shoving the object away.

He could hear Sasha laughing in the background. He then realized it was a potato.

"Damn you, potato girl!" Connie shouted.

Connie finally made it through and stood up, yanking the blindfold off of his face. He wanted to see what made his trip and stumble so much for ten minutes. His mouth dropped open when he saw that there were only five chairs on the path.

"That was it?!" Connie cried, shocked. "It felt much longer than that!"

"That's what your mom said, bitch!" Ymir shouted from the sidelines.

"Damn it, I walked into that one." Connie stormed back to his snickering teammates.

When everyone eventually finished, Levi walked back over to his students.

"I hope we all learned a lesson in trying to sabotage other people." Levi smirked. "So for the next round, make sure to be fair. Always try to be fair, especially while living in such a bigoted place. There may be a time when you have to devious to survive, but don't let it be today. So set up for round two."

Eren gazed at Levi before walking away with his teammates. _Looks like the old man was right. He isn't an idiot._

**~.~.~.~.~.~.~**

By the end of the class, everyone was talking to everyone. Levi had to tell them to shut up several times as they walked back to class, as they were just so happy and friendly to one another. Even Annie was talking to Eren. Levi was satisfied with the results of the exercise. These kids were different than any of the others in the school. They had flaws, and didn't even bother trying to hide them. He admired that. If anyone would start making changes not only in the school, but in town, it would be led by his twelve students.

After the bell rang, Ymir and Historia purposefully stayed behind until everyone left. They noticed Jean and Marco holding hands briefly before parting ways. Historia bit her lip, looking up at the taller brunette uncertainly. Ymir gave her a comforting gaze before grabbing her hand and tugging her along to see Levi.

"Uh, Levi." Ymir called.

Levi looked up from his computer at them. "Yes?"

Historia hid behind Ymir nervously.

"We… noticed how Jean and Marco have no trouble being around each other in class, and showing affection like holding hands and stuff. You're the reason for that, correct?" Ymir asked.

Levi's eyes narrowed. "Who's asking?"

"I am… we are." Ymir pulled Historia out from behind her. "Because if you are the reason… we want to confide in you too."

Levi's eyebrows shot up in surprise. He already figured Ymir like Historia, but he never thought that Historia returned her feelings.

"Come see me after school." He told them. "Jean and Marco are coming as well. We'll talk then. And you _must_ keep this a secret, or else you, Historia, Jean, Marco and I are doomed. Wakaru?"

"Wakatta." Ymir replied in Japanese, saluting Levi. "We'll be here. Come on, Historia."

"T-Thank you, Levi." Historia bowed her head slightly before leaving with the tall girl.

Levi rubbed his temples, exhaling deeply. He felt like punching something. He figured there would be more closeted gays in this school than people let on. The fact that they have to hide it frustrated Levi. He wished there was more he could do for them, but the laws are so tough and exact, he fails to see how. If only there was some way to raise reasonable doubt within the people here…

Deciding to ponder that later, Levi got back to work planning his lessons.

_**~.~.~.~.~.~.~.**_

"…"

The air was heavy with tension. Jean and Marco sat far away from Ymir and Historia later that day. The friendly atmosphere from this morning vanished completely.

Levi stared at them. "Why the hell are you four so quiet? I'm sure you've realized by now that all you guys have something in common, right?"

The four reluctantly looked at Levi, then at each other.

"Sit closer together, all of you. Let's talk about this." Levi said, closing his classroom door.

His four students shuffled, sitting together silently.

Levi sat down in front of them. "Ymir and Historia, I'm sure you know Jean and Marco's history. They were found out. But… I doubt anyone knows about you two. This is a confidential meeting, so it's okay to tell us."

Historia looked down, ashamed. "Well… I…"

"There's no need to be afraid or ashamed." Jean spoke up. "After Marco and I told Levi what was going on, he's been a huge help supporting our relationship. He can't help you unless you tell him your circumstances."

"Yes, we're lesbians." Ymir finally said. "I've known it my entire life. I've always been attracted to girls, but of course, I couldn't tell anybody. I would have been condemned even worse than I have been."

Ymir looked at Historia, encouraging her to share when she knew.

"I… never knew." Historia whispered. "Not until spending a lot of time with Ymir. Even though people think of me as an angel, I never really had any friends. But Ymir was the only one who saw me for who I really am. A year ago, she confessed to me that she was gay. I didn't what to think about it. I was always taught that it was wrong. But I decided to accept her, as she has done for me. I didn't realize I had feelings for her until two months ago. I was scared, so scared of what my parents would do if they found out, so I refrained from telling her… until yesterday."

Historia's lips trembled, trying to hold back her tears. "I felt happy, but now I feel fear. I don't want to be found out like Jean and Marco. My parents will…"

Ymir put a hand on Historia's back. "Calm down. We're safe here."

The tall girl looked up at Levi. "Historia and I come from different backgrounds. Her family is one of the wealthiest in Shiganshina, and is close with the government. They are heavily influential. Her parents clearly do not have any love for her. They watch her every move, making sure she does nothing 'sinful' to ruin their family and wealth. That's why she acts like an angel all the time, willing to kiss her teachers' asses to get in their good favor."

Historia nodded, wiping some tears that managed to escape its duct. "I must be the perfect daughter, otherwise the people of Shiganshina will look at and question the government's morals. Then, they might out my parent's secret. There has been peace here for years. I can't bring myself to ruin it for my selfish love for Ymir. I just can't."

Historia choked back a sob. "My parents hate me already, claiming I was a mistake. Where my parents are originally from, abortion was illegal, so they had no choice but to have me."

"You are not a mistake." Levi said firmly. "If you can't find any worth in yourself, then who else will?"

"That's what I try to tell her." Ymir pulled Historia into a tight embrace, feeling her tears roll onto her uniform shirt.

"I thought of myself as worthless as well when I was your age." Levi said. "I wasn't in a corrupt family like you, but my parent didn't love me either. They even condemned me for being gay."

"You're… gay too?" Ymir's eyes widened.

"Yeah. But because I didn't have any self-esteem, I let myself go into a storm of despair. I did things I'm not proud of, and I'm still learning to love myself. It's harder to do so when you're older, so do it now. Find comfort in the love you and Ymir have. Because I'm telling you now, in the end, it will be just you two."

Historia raised her head up from Ymir's chest. "Okay… I'll try." She sniffled.

Levi patted Historia on the head and looked at Ymir. "So what about you?"

Ymir's eyes were dull. "My parents aren't even parents. They're good-for-nothings that stay at home and argue. Whenever they go out of town on 'vacation', I'm left at home. They always bring back cigarettes and beer that they hide in their car. It all runs out in about a week. I have to work five days a week to support myself and my parents. In fact, if I told my parents I was gay, they wouldn't give a fuck. They need me to bring money to the house."

"It was hard finding a job, since the whole town thinks I'm a fucking bum, man. I'm stuck cleaning toilets and shit. As a result, I rarely have time to study and do homework. The teachers call me dumb and incompetent. They've called my parents, but they don't do anything of course. When they're drunk though, they always attempt to beat me up. When they do, I leave the house for a couple of days, hiding in Historia's basement."

Ymir looked at Historia lovingly. "She always takes me in when I need to escape my parents. I can't call the police and ruin the delusional peace here. Historia sneaks me food and water. Actually, that's how we met."

Historia blushed. "We met three years ago. I was careless and left a window on the first floor of the mansion open. Ymir was searching for refuge somewhere, and found my window open. She snuck her way to the basement. The next day, I went down to there to clean, and I found her. I recognized her from one of my classes in middle school. Even though I should have been scared… I wasn't."

"You were so much smaller back then! It was so cute!" Ymir squealed. "Right when I laid eyes on you that day, I fell in love!"

Historia hid her face in her hands. "Ymir!" Her cry was muffled.

Marco smiled warmly at the two. "You guys… you're so happy together. I hope one day, all four us won't have to hide who we are. Or should I say… all _five_ of us." He redirected his smile to Levi.

He nodded in appreciation at Marco. "One day, we will."

He looked at Ymir. "Ymir, you are not dumb and incompetent. You are very smart. When do you have to work?"

"From four-thirty until eleven." She sighed. "I try to study on the weekends, but that's difficult. My parents don't allow me to have any sort of peace."

Levi checked his watch. It was four o'clock. "Do you usually go straight home?"

"No. This is the little time I have to spend with Historia. We usually hide out in the courtyard of this school." Ymir replied. "I don't want to damage her reputation even more than I have."

Levi tapped his chin. "Do you mind eating lunch in a classroom?"

Ymir shrugged. "I usually don't eat lunch. And Historia and I don't have lunch at the same time."

"How about you come here?" Levi suggested. "I can help you study then. I just wish there was some way you don't have to work. You're so young."

"Not really." Ymir looked away. "I'm actually seventeen. In middle school, I failed sixth grade because I missed so much school. I missed school because I had a virus. My parents couldn't afford a doctor for me, so I was bedridden for weeks. Dr. Jaeger was out of town then, so we couldn't even call him."

Historia snuggled closer to Ymir. "She's so strong and fearless. I can't imagine living in her shoes."

"I can't imagine living in your shoes either." Ymir lightly tapped Historia on the nose. "I guess that's why we're together. We both come from terrible conditions, but we're able to love each other. I think that's really special, don't ya think?"

Historia smiled softly. "Yeah."

After talking with Jean and Marco for a few more minutes, Ymir had to go to work.

"Ymir, are you taking up my offer?" Levi asked.

"I sure am. No one calls me dumb and gets away with it. I'll show them." Ymir grinned. "Thanks, Levi."

Jean and Marco exchanged hugs with Ymir and Historia before walking out, glad they have friends that can relate to them.

"I'll see you tomorrow, Historia." Ymir said, encasing her girlfriend's hand with her own.

"Okay." Historia blushed.

Ymir bent down and kissed Historia on her forehead. Historia's face reddened even more, surprised at the sudden gesture.

"I love you." Ymir murmured. "And I want our first kiss to happen when we're finally free to express ourselves."

Running a hand through Historia's blond hair, Ymir gave her one last gaze before leaving for her job.

Historia stood there for a moment before bursting with happiness. "Ymir really loves me…"

"She does." Levi said, getting ready to leave as well. "Cherish her, and don't let anyone or anything break you two apart. Understand?"

"Yes." Historia replied bubbly. She half-skipped out of Levi's classroom. Levi closed the door behind himself as he prepared to head to the bakery. As he walked outside, he felt the wind picking up considerably.

"Huh, there must be a storm coming." Levi muttered, revving up his motorcycle.

As he started down his usual route, he spotted Eren walking quickly in the same direction. He slowed down until he was at the same pace.

"The wind is about to knock you over." Levi smirked. "Want a ride?"

"Ha ha." Eren spat. "No, I'm fine- gah!"

The strong winds moved Eren westward, causing him to fall on Levi.

"Are you sure?" Levi snickered.

"Ugh, fine!" Eren snapped.

Not sure how exactly to get on a motorcycle, Eren awkwardly swung one leg over and sat down, uncomfortable with how close he was to Levi.

"You'll have to hold on to me, Jaeger." Levi told him. "Unless you want to fall off and hit your head."

Eren muttered curses under his breath as he tentatively placed his hands on Levi's sides. Levi sped off, causing Eren to instinctively wrap his arms fully around Levi and cling onto him tightly. Levi smiled slightly when he felt Eren's head rest on his back.

"This is so cool." Levi heard Eren murmur.

Levi went a little faster, making Eren hold on even tighter. A foreign feeling crept up Levi's chest. His heart rate picked up slightly. Levi ignored it, deciding to think about all of his students.

_So many good kids, but no one appreciates them. But I do. They remind me of myself so much, it hurts. They're not bad in any sense. Just a little misguided. I have to find out why they're drinking and smoking marijuana at such an age. Maybe then… I can help them more so they won't turn out like me._

* * *

**That is it for part 1 of this "Twisted" plot! Tornado next chapter. And Hanji in chapter 8, I swear! And it will all make so much sense! I promise you! I hope the Ymir x Historia fluff and the slight Riren made up for it. What is Ymir and Historia's fan name anyway? XD  
**

**If you've enjoyed this so far, add this to your favorites and alerts. And remember…**

**REVIEWS ARE LIKE PORN TO WRITERS, SO SATISFY OUR URGES!**

**See you in the next one!**

**PRK**


	7. Twisted part 2

**Hey guys! I am not dead! As I explained in the Eyes of the Beholder update, I started college, and I was unable to update anything. And as a result, there will be no more PLANNED weekly updates. Updates will be based around my homework schedule. We'll see how it goes.  
**

**I stayed up most of the night to write this for you guys! That's how much I love you. :3**

**Aaaaaaand welcome to one of the most crucial chapters in this story! Prepare for plot twists and other twistedness (hah, see what I did there)! But… you guys don't care because you're all pissed that Hanji wasn't in the previous chapter. XD She'll make her appearance in the next one!**

**Thank you for the reviews, faves and alerts! :D**

**Enjoy the chapter!**

* * *

_**Chapter 7 **__Twisted part 2_

The next day, Levi walked to school, actually looking forward to his job. He finally felt like he was making a difference in the lives of so many people.

"Isabel… Furlan… if you're watching from up there, I hope I'm making you proud." Levi murmured.

The winds have picked up speed overnight, and it has rained. The weather had the telltale signs of a tornado. As a result, Levi decided to leave his motorcycle in Erwin's garage. At least it had a lesser chance of getting thrown through the air.

Levi felt a few drops of water land on his nose.

"Oh, great." Levi muttered.

He opened his bag to take out a navy blue umbrella. He opened it just in time, as rain started to pour down. He picked up the pace of his walk, being careful not to step in any newly formed puddles.

When Levi passed the Maria Bakery, Eren was just leaving. He spotted Levi rather comically stepping over puddles. Smiling, Eren pulled up the hood of his jacket and ran to catch up with his teacher.

"Levi!" Eren called.

Levi stopped, sighing. He should have expected something like this to happen.

"I see you don't have your motorcycle. I guess you've decided to mingle with the commoners, huh?" Eren joked.

"Don't get smart, brat." Levi scowled. "We're not on school grounds. I can kick your ass right here."

"But then you'll be out of the protection of your precious umbrella." Eren sneered.

Levi rolled his eyes. "Just because I like to always be presentable, unlike _you_, doesn't mean I can't get dirty if I chose to."

"And I'm important enough for you to do such a thing?" Eren grinned.

"…" Levi resumed his walking. "I'm through talking to you."

"Oh, come onnn!" Eren followed him. "Before, I wouldn't talk at all. Thanks to your little activity yesterday, I feel like talking to everyone all the time."

"Then I made a terrible mistake." Levi muttered. "But what's the real reason you're so chatty today?"

Eren looked away. "I… really appreciate you actually giving a fuck about us. You're the only teacher that does. The way you talk to us and teach us proves it. I guess… I'm just really happy you're my teacher."

Levi's eyes widened in surprise. "Is that so? I thought you hated my guts."

Eren winced. "I did for a while. But… that's only because I thought you'd rat us out about our partying. I thought you were just like the other adults in this damn town. But you're not. After your activity yesterday, I realized that you do actually care. So… thanks."

In order to escape eye contact with Levi, Eren walked faster.

Levi didn't know what to say. Did he really manage to gain Eren's trust? And for that matter, why was gaining Eren's trust so important to him in the first place? His other students are just as important.

Shaking his head, Levi continued his leisurely walk to school, not caring that the wind was knocking him around.

_**~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.**_

"What took you so long?" Eren asked.

Eren was leaning against the door to the Japanese classroom when Levi approached it. Armin was standing next to him.

"Ohayougozaimasu, Levi." Armin greeted, bowing to his sensei.

"Ohayougozaimasu." Levi replied, ignoring Eren's question. He unlocked the classroom door. "Both of you are rather early today. What's up?"

"We didn't want to walk in the storm, so we got up early." Armin replied. "Most of us do. There's a great chance for a tornado later today. The last thing we want is to arrive to school soaked and with leaves stuck to our clothes."

"I see." Levi walked inside, Eren and Armin right behind him. "You guys remember the tornado drill, right?"

"Of course we do." Eren rolled his eyes. "It's not hard. We just stay in this classroom since it doesn't have windows."

"I know it's simple. It's just that knowing you, you'd forget something so crucial." Levi smirked.

"Ha ha." Eren said dryly, sitting down at his desk. "I'm not an idiot, you know."

Levi and Armin just stared at him.

"Fine!" Eren snapped, crossing his arms. "I'm not an idiot _most_ of the time."

"That's better." Armin laughed lightly.

At that moment, Ymir and Historia walked inside the classroom, talking excitedly. As soon as Historia saw Eren and Armin, she immediately stopped, silently walking past them to sit down. Ymir sighed before taking her seat next to her.

Eren and Armin looked at each other, confused as to why their presence ruined their conversation. Levi glanced at the two girls. He hated that they even had to hide their relationship from their own friends. Levi was lucky that he had two friends in school that he was able to confide in about his homosexuality. But now…

"Ohayoooouuu!" Connie burst in the classroom with Sasha, greeting Levi loudly.

Levi's eyes darkened. "Is that how you greet your sensei?"

Connie jumped, scared. "Oh, uh, no. Lemme try that again."

Connie walked back out of the classroom. He stood at the doorway and bowed. "Ohayougozaimasu, Levi."

"That's better." Levi waved him inside.

"Ohayougozaimasu!" Sasha smiled, bowing as well. "Since there is a possibility that we may trapped in this class for a while if a tornado really does touch down, I brought a bunch of potatoes for everyone."

Sure enough, when Sasha opened her schoolbag, it was filled with potatoes. Levi stared at her, unamused.

"Did you bring any school supplies with you?" He asked.

"Nope!" Sasha grinned.

Levi rubbed his forehead. "…Sasha, suwatte kudasai."

Sasha quickly sat down next to Connie.

"Hey potato girl, I think you broke Levi." Connie snickered.

"I dunno why. Maybe he's hungry." Sasha shrugged. "I feel broken when I'm hungry."

"We know." Connie rolled his eyes.

By the time school officially started, everyone was seated at their desk. Just as Armin said, his classmates arrived early to escape the wrath of the storm. Levi was impressed. When the bell rang, Levi stood up in front of the class.

"Kiritsu!" Marco called.

The entire class stood.

"Rei!"

All of the students bowed and said "Onegai shimasu" in unison.

"Chakuseki."

Everyone sat down. Just before Levi could talk, the PA system turned on.

"God fucking damn it." Levi muttered.

"Attention all students and faculty." Dot Pixis' voice said over the mic. "It has been confirmed that a tornado has formed in the neighboring capital Trost. Our meteorologists predict that the tornado will arrive in Shiganshina in approximately one hour. All students are to remain in their period one class until further notice. Teachers, continue your lessons as planned. Thank you."

Levi stared at his students. "So… who wants to not have class today?"

As expected, everyone raised their hands.

"I thought so." Levi said, amused. "So, instead of having a lecture, let's have a chat."

Levi pulled his desk over to the desks and sat down, crossing his legs. "So, you all and I have known each other for three months now. By a show of hands, how many of you feel like you can trust me?"

Slowly, the entire class' hands went up.

"That's good. Because as your teacher, it's my job to make sure you guys are okay." Levi exhaled deeply. "So, since you trust me, let's say I know something about all of you that you would rather not talk about. Would you mind me bringing it up today to discuss?"

Jean, Marco, and Historia looked frightened. Ymir glared at Levi.

"It's a collective thing. Not individual." Levi clarified, putting the four students at ease.

"Er… I don't see why not?" Sasha looked at everyone else.

"Sure. I'd like to see what we all have in common." Annie shrugged. "I doubt it's much."

Eren sat there, thinking hard. Suddenly, he realized what Levi was possibly going to talk about.

"Wait! No!" Eren stood up suddenly. "Levi!"

Levi stared Eren down. "What?"

"Don't you dare…!" Eren glowered fiercely at the older man.

"Eren, I thought you trusted me." Levi replied mockingly. "So if you don't, then sit in the very back and shut up. Since I actually give a fuck about you guys, this must be discussed."

Armin looked at Eren with wide eyes, also realizing what Levi was going to bring up. "Eren…"

Eren balled his fists. With great reluctance, he sat back down in his seat. "Fine!" He snapped.

"Wait… what's going on here?" Reiner frowned. "Why is he freaking out?"

Everyone waited for an explanation. Levi sighed.

"Eren has been protecting all of you for months now. From what he thought was a threat; me." Levi began.

Armin hid his face in his hands. _This is the end…_

"And before I continue, I would like to say that none of you are in trouble with me." Levi said. "Understand? This will all be kept confidential."

"Okay…? What are we not in trouble with you about?" Ymir inquired.

"I stumbled upon one your underground parties." Levi confessed. "The one you had in December."

At that moment, everyone's eyes were filled with fear.

"Oh no…" Historia wailed. "No…!"

"Goddamn it!" Connie glared at Jean. "Jean, you were first shift on lookout! What the hell were you doing?!"

Jean gulped. "Uh… I-I don't remember ever seeing Levi!"

"Probably because he was drunk." Ymir scoffed. "Again."

"I tried to tell you all Jean was incompetent." Annie sighed.

"Hey! What the hell?!" Jean scowled at the blond girl. "It was Christmas, damn it! So I slipped up one time."

"We were not supposed to slip up at all, stupid!" Sasha shouted.

"You have no right to _me_ stupid, potato girl!" Jean sneered. "Don't you remember? _You _were the one that gave me the beer in the first place."

Everyone redirected their anger to Sasha.

"Good going." Ymir gritted her teeth.

"Don't put the blame on me!" Sasha defended herself.

"You know you're not supposed to hand out the beer to those on watch duty." Bertolt scolded her.

"Now we're all screwed." Thomas moaned.

"Wait!" Sasha cried. "How could Jean remember _I_ gave him beer, but he can't remember ever seeing Levi?!"

As everyone griped and argued, Marco, the only one who never went to the parties, sat there in confusion.

"Party… beer…? What's going on?" Marco asked, looking at Jean.

"Eren, you knew about this?!" Jean pointed at the brunette, ignoring Marco. "Why didn't you tell us we've been found out?!"

"Because I knew this "blame it on one person" shit would happen!" Eren snapped, getting in Jean's face.

Levi had enough. "Hey! All of you shut the fuck up!"

With angry expressions, everyone silenced their accusations.

Levi crossed his arms. "All of you are to blame! Even though you're not in any trouble with _me_, you might get in trouble with the law. And the police will not have any problem throwing you all in prison. So let's get to the bottom of this before all of you wind up in a cell!"

Eren bit his lip, feeling like everything he and his friends worked for is going down that drain.

"So… let's start this over." Levi said. "So you all have a huge party once a month with alcohol and blunts, correct?"

"…yes." Ymir was the only one who spoke up.

"And you all do this in order to feel like you have some sort of freedom and control over your lives?" Levi continued.

"Yeah." More people spoke up.

"I know exactly how that feels." Levi admitted. "When I was you guy's age, I felt like my entire existence didn't belong to me. So I resorted to that stuff to escape."

"Really?" Connie asked with wide eyes.

"Yes. We're all human. However…" Levi's expression was downcast. "Participating in underage drinking and smoking will wreck any chance of a better future. When you're an adult, you'll be able to do whatever the hell you want, including drink and smoke. But by then, hopefully you all would have matured enough to know what you're doing and what direction your life is headed."

"…that's a false hope." Annie deadpanned. "When we all turn eighteen, our situations will not have changed. We'll all still be stuck here."

"We'll still be cattle trapped behind a wall." Eren added, his teeth clenched.

"So while we still have the resources and opportunity, we should be able to escape from our daily lives." Ymir finished.

"Who says you'll be stuck here forever? The government? Your teachers? Your _parents?_" Levi peered. "You all have the power to make a difference in this world. It takes a tiny spark. I assure you, you all are not the only ones in Shiganshina that feel trapped here. You guys have to step up."

Historia cowered in her chair. "No… I can't. _We_ can't."

Eren's eyes sparked, a sudden fire burning in them. He racked his brain, trying to figure out what to do.

_Wait...! That day, when we first decided to have parties..._

"Yes… we can." Eren stood up. "I just remembered something important that could help us."

"What are you talking about, Jaeger?" Jean asked. "The government is pretty much our god. What power do we have?"

"I can't believe I didn't think about this before." Eren continued. "The old house we party in… used to belong to the governor, correct?"

"Yes, it did." Armin replied. "Balto used that place for storage, I believe. Then it was torn down five years later, and it turned into a home for a family, then it was abandoned for good. It's really strange, now that I think about it."

"And Historia… what did you find in there?" Eren looked at the small girl.

Historia started to sweat, her hands shaking. _No… this was never supposed to be revealed to anyone else! I promised to bring in a supply of marijuana if they said nothing!_

"… several blunts and some cocaine that had some sort of official seal. It was a unicorn, I believe." Eren answered for her.

Levi's eyes widened. "What?"

"Wait! That's the seal of the highest sector of the police force!" Armin cried. "Historia just said she found some regular case of marijuana."

Everyone looked at Historia. She was trembling like a leaf.

"I…I must have forgotten… or wanted to forget." She replied feebly.

"Which is understandable… _right?_" Ymir glared menacingly at her other peers.

"Of course it is." Armin quickly said. "I mean, at that time, we didn't really know what marijuana and cocaine was."

"So Eren, how did you find this?" Levi inquired.

"Well, a few months ago, I was put in charge of scoping out a place for us to have our monthly fun." Eren explained. "When I came across the abandoned house, I found Historia inside the basement looking for something. At that time, the basement was full of stuff from the government. She told me that her parents sent her to retrieve some old heirloom or something. Then… we came across the marijuana and cocaine. It wasn't much, but we had no idea what it was."

Levi glanced at Historia. She looked more and more distraught.

"Historia took most of it to dispose of it as trash, but I kept some to figure out what it was." Eren continued. "I foolishly left the government seal on it when I took it to our crazy biology teacher Hanji Zoe. Man, I wouldn't have done that if only I had known what it was. Armin and Historia were there when I showed it to her."

"When Eren asked Miss Zoe, she got this crazy look on her face." Armin shuddered. "She actually explained what marijuana and cocaine was, and how to use it. If the other teachers found out, she would've been arrested for sure."

Levi's head was spinning with all of the information he was receiving. _These kids… came across a drug cartel?!_

"So, we couldn't find anything to recreate cocaine, but Historia recreated marijuana." Eren said. "It's amazing. And Sasha was able to recreate beer, since her parents used to drink. She's a total food nut, she could taste the ingredients."

"Yup!" Sasha said proudly.

"And thus, our monthly parties started." Eren sighed. "We all worked so hard to keep it a secret… only for a new resident of Shiganshina to find it."

"Heh, it's pretty ironic." Armin said. "All of the people who have lived here for years never suspected a thing."

"…and I want to keep it that way." Historia muttered, her eyes lifeless.

"Historia…?" Levi peered at the girl.

She blinked several times, regaining her composure. "Nothing."

"So the government might be behind some shady dealings." Levi decided to ignore Historia's strange behavior for now. "That's quite an unexpected development."

"There's nothing we can do about that, though. We have no outstanding proof since the seals are long gone, and the police won't believe us anyway." Jean pointed out.

_What's going on in this secretive heart of darkness? _

"You've shared a lot with me." Levi said. "And even though things look bleak, you've really done yourselves and the people of Shiganshina a great service. Even though this is mere speculation, the drugs could lead to an explanation of why the laws of this place are bat shit crazy."

Levi stared at his class. "You have to promise me some things. One, do not step foot in that house ever again. There could be more evidence hidden away. I don't want you guys to get in any trouble. And two, do not produce any more beer and marijuana. If there is some dealing going on, I don't want you all to go down with the government."

"So… if we do promise you, what are you going to do for us?" Eren asked.

Levi smirked. "I'm going to be that spark you all need to make a difference."

_**~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.**_

By the time the tornado passed through Shiganshina, half of the school day was over. Pixis came over the speaker again, declaring a half day and dismissing the students.

Everyone was in higher spirits, talking excitedly about what could be going on.

"I like how class turned into a discussion on how to overthrow the government." Connie snickered.

"Shut up." Sasha rolled her eyes. "It did not go that far."

"I knew the government was sly, but this is downright sneaky." Jean whispered to Marco.

"I know. They are against our relationship, but then they deal in drugs? How hypocritical." Marco replied.

The only person that was not happy about what was discussed was Historia. She looked frightened. Levi didn't get a chance to question her, as she was the first one out of the classroom, Ymir on her heels.

"Levi… do you wanna walk with me to the bakery?" Eren asked bashfully.

Levi raised an eyebrow. "What's up with you?"

"Nothing!" Eren blushed. "It's so you won't fall in any puddles or trip on any of the debris the tornado threw around."

"…you make it seem like I'm a disabled five year old." Levi scoffed. "But fine. I'll accompany you."

As the two left the school, Levi questioned Eren further.

"I was surprised that you would be the first to tell me about the drugs." He said.

"Well…" Eren scratched the back of his head. "I realized that this entire time, I haven't been doing anything useful to get out of the life I'm currently living. All I've done is complain and try to escape my drinking and smoking. I… want to fight for my freedom."

"Honorable words." Levi replied. "But do you have the strength and persistence to back them up?"

Eren grinned cheekily. "You bet I do! Now that I know I'm not alone in this endeavor, I feel a lot better about my strength."

"We'll see when that time comes." Levi looked straight forward. "Here's another pressing matter I want to ask you."

"Yeah?"

"Where the hell did you get the clothes and music at the party?" Levi asked.

Eren face palmed. "Is that all? Most of us found it in our parent's old boxes from years ago. The 80s, I believe? It's pretty cool, but we kinda feel outdates, especially the music. What does music in the present sound like?"

"Like shit. Stick to what you have." Levi quickly told him.

Eren laughed. "I'm so glad we have a teacher like you, Levi. You're the best."

Levi felt his heart skip a beat. "…thanks."

The two walked in an awkward silence.

"…what's the first thing you're gonna do to figure out the drug problem?" Eren broke the silence.

"I'm going to pay a visit to your biology teacher. Hanji, is it?" Levi asked.

Eren shivered. "Good luck with that. I hope you make it out alive."

Levi just shook his head. "Nonsense. I'm sure she is not as bad as you make her out to be."

"You'll see for yourself soon." Eren assured him.

Levi had no idea what he getting himself into… with the discovered drugs, and Hanji Zoe.

_Eren... I know said I would be the spark to help you guys, but honestly... I think it's you._

* * *

**Disclaimer: Levi's views on today's music are not necessarily my own!**

**Well, there you have it! Wow, things have certainly gotten twisted, haven't they? And yet there are still more questions to be answered! And as promised, Hanji makes her appearance in the next chapter! So you guys can't get mad at me again! XD**

**If you've liked the story so far, add this to your favorites and alerts.**

**And remember...**

**REVIEWS ARE LIKE PORN TO WRITERS, SO SATISFY OUR URGES!**

**I really appreciate feedback. See you in the next one!**

**PRK**


	8. Downhill

**Hey guys! Because I do not want to participate in college sorority parties, I was able to complete this chapter over the weekend! Yay!**

**Finally, Hanji is making her appearance! You can all stop being upset with me now. XD I'm going to deliver!**

**Thank you all so so much for the reviews, faves, and alerts! After being absent for two weeks, I did not expect the amount of feedback I received for the previous chapter. So thank you for your continued support! I love you guys!**

**Enjoy the chapter!**

* * *

_**Chapter 8 **Downhill_

The next morning, Levi left for school earlier than usual. He decided to confront this Hanji Zoe before any of the students arrived. As he avoided the debris left by the storm, Levi thought of a strategy to coax the information he desired out of her.

_She had no problem explaining to her students what marijuana was, but then again, she's a science teacher, and the kids didn't know any better. _Levi thought. _How will she react to another adult asking her about it? If she's as religious as the other instructors, then she won't give it up so easily. _

Levi decided just to go for it. If push comes to shove, he could always blackmail Hanji Zoe. She did handle illegal drugs, after all. He could also convince Erwin to back him up on it. And since Historia is the most trusted student in existence, she could help out as well.

Of course, Levi also took precautions. If Hanji is somehow in cahoots with the marijuana and cocaine, she would most likely be expecting someone to find out sooner or later. So just in case, Levi had tucked away a knife in a holster.

Satisfied with his backup plan, Levi parked his motorcycle in the teacher's parking lot. He walked inside and went upstairs to the science hallway. He never got a chance to really explore that section of the school. He could hear weird sounds and uncontrollable laughter coming from one of the classrooms. Curious, Levi stepped towards the room it was coming from.

His students shared rumors about the teacher, Hanji Zoe, being some sort of witch. He shot down that idea, not believing in superstitious nonsense. The laughter coming from the room did sound creepy though.

_I wonder if this is Hanji._ Levi mused.

Levi slowly opened the door and poked his head inside. Inside was a female teacher, her back turned to Levi. She had brown hair up in a ponytail. She was sporting a lab coat and white pants.

_Damn… she's insane. That's probably her._

"Meh...heh heh...ha ha ha ha!" Hanji cackled pouring chemicals into a flask.

Levi stepped inside, eyeing her cautiously. "Excuse me, Hanji Zoe. Do you have a moment?"

The science teacher turned around, pushing her goggles up over her head. She smiled widely

"Good morning, little guy! Are you a new student to my class?" She asked excitedly.

Levi twitched. "No. I'm a teacher here."

Hanji's mouth formed an 'o.' "Oh, I'm sorry! You really have a baby face, sir!"

_This bitch is completely nuts! _Levi seethed.

"Wait, let me put on my glasses." Hanji said, walking over to her desk.

After putting them on, Hanji took a good look at the shorter teacher. "Oh! You really are an adult! My vision was a little blurry when I took my goggles off. All I saw was a short guy."

"Yeah, I guessed as much." Levi rolled his eyes, closing the door behind him.

"So, who are you?" Hanji smiled.

"Just call me Levi." He replied.

"So Levi, what business do you have with me?" Hanji inquired. "None of the teachers in this school have ever visited my class before. They're scared of me. I can't imagine why."

Levi looked around the classroom. She had displays of animals in glass jars, most of them dead. Chemicals were stacked everywhere.

"…I can think of a few reasons." Levi muttered. "Anyways, what I am about to discuss with you is completely confidential. If you dare tell anybody, you will regret it."

"Ooh! We just met and we're already sharing secrets!" Hanji gushed. "Fine! Cross my heart and hope to die! Stick a scalpel in my eye!"

Levi took a deep breath, trying to control his anger. _Calm down. Just calm down. As soon as you get the information you need, you'll never have to speak to her again._

"There's been something that has been brought to my attention." Levi began. "I heard that some students brought some illegal drugs to you, unaware of what they were. And… you took them and _explained_ to said students what they were."

Hanji tilted her head in confusion. "What are you talking about? I know teachers and students around here don't like me, but that doesn't mean I'm involved in something like that."

"Don't feign ignorance." Levi scowled. "A _student_ of yours told me about this. Unless you're saying that _she's_ lying, then there are going to be some problems."

Hanji's eyes widened, immediately knowing who he was referring to. "Historia…?"

Levi crossed his arms and glared at the teacher.

"Levi… what exactly do you want from me?" Hanji's bubbly expression dissipated.

"I want you to tell me what you did with those drugs. They had the _government's seal_, did they not?" Levi asked.

Hanji sighed, rubbing her temple. "You know way too much. My boss is gonna kill me." She reached for her back pocket.

"…!" Levi quickly reached for his knife in his holster.

As soon as he unsheathed his weapon, Hanji also revealed hers. A 9mm handgun was pointed directly at Levi's skull.

"Shit!" Levi growled.

He wasn't prepared for this. Not that he had much of a choice. Erwin didn't leave any of his guns lying around. In fact, he has yet to see a gun store anywhere. So how the hell did a science teacher get her hands on one?

"If you don't want a bullet in your brain, I suggest we make a deal." Hanji said calmly. "You walk out of here and say nothing. Also, you will interrogate Miss Historia further for new information. She is a prime suspect."

"What are you talking about?" Levi asked. He looked around the room for something to distract Hanji with.

"I'm sure you know about Historia's parents having complete control over the government." Hanji responded. "But that's all you need to know. So, do we have a deal or not?"

"If you shoot me, do you honestly think you can escape this school without getting caught?" Levi challenged, edging slowly to his right.

The barrel of Hanji's gun followed him. "Yes, I do. You see, I know how to cover it up. I do experiments in here all the time before school starts. Such experiments have resulted in a loud explosion that sounds like a gunshot. Now, the staff just ignores it."

"Well, I hope none of your experiments need _this_." Levi smirked.

Hanji's eyes widened. "What?"

Levi threw his knife at her glass jar displays, knocking over one with a dead frog inside.

"Nooooo! Kermit!" Hanji cried, dropping her weapon and running over to the already deceased amphibian. "What has he done to you?!"

As Hanji sobbed, Levi scrambled towards her fallen gun and picked it up. He aimed it at her.

"Tell me what you're hiding!" Levi ordered roughly.

Hanji slowly put her hands up in the air. "You win, Levi. You don't have to shoot." She sniffled, still staring at the frog. "You're serious about this and those kids, aren't you?"

Levi's aim never wavered. "What are you talking about?"

"The kids in your Japanese class. Erwin Smith has told me a lot about you." Hanji turned around, smiling widely.

"How do you know Erwin?" Levi's eyes narrowed.

"He's my boss." Hanji replied. "And that's all I can say for now. If you want to know more, ask him. I'm not allowed to say any more. Just know that I am on your side, Levi. Quite a few of us are. And, for the record… I never planned on shooting you. I just wanted to see if you were the real deal. And you certainly are."

Levi lowered the gun, dropping it back on the floor. Hanji turned back around, picking up the pieces of broken glass. "Oh, Kermit… you had such a short life."

"He was already dead, idiot." Levi scoffed. "And you should know better than to pick up broken glass. Here, move over. I know how to pick it up without cutting myself."

Levi knelt down next to Hanji and took over. Hanji quickly grabbed a bin made for glass and brought it back over to him.

"Thanks, Levi." Hanji said. "You know, you're the first person I've met in this town that isn't afraid of me."

Levi clicked his tongue. "You're not scary. This town is just full of nutjobs. If you're the least bit different, or out of the norm, this place treats you like shit. I've never seen such a dull place. My students are so oppressed, it's insane. And do me a favor…"

Levi gave Hanji a steely glare. "Leave Historia Reiss alone. She's a child. She cannot possibly be a suspect in any sort of crime the government is a part of. I refuse to interrogate her. Historia is already going through enough shit as it is. Why make it worse for her?"

Hanji sighed. "I'm sorry, Levi. We can't pick and choose who to target. The whole family has to go down."

Levi clenched his fists. "Well maybe you should pick and choose. Why does everyone have to take part in whatever the hell is going on?"

Hanji refused to answer him directly. "Like I said, I can't reveal anything else. You'll have to speak to Erwin."

Levi finished picking up the glass and stood up. "I will."

"...can we be best friends now?" Hanji stared at Levi with googly eyes.

"..." Levi left the strange teacher alone, upset and confused.

"Is that a yes?" Hanji called from her classroom.

_**~.~.~.~.~.~.~.**_

Levi couldn't focus on anything for the rest of the school day. He taught his only class with an obvious indifference. Whenever someone tried to bring up their discussion yesterday, he quickly changed the subject. Levi had no right to talk about it anymore when he had no idea what was going on.

Later that day, Levi vaguely remembered Jean asking if he could stay after to talk with him, so he waited around. The sandy haired teen walked in by himself, Marco nowhere to be seen.

"Jean, where's Marco?" Levi inquired.

"You… haven't gotten a call from him, have you?" Jean asked nervously.

Levi raised an eyebrow. "Why would I have?"

Jean looked away. "He was absent today. Didn't you notice?"

_Nope._

"When you're absent, you're supposed to call in sick, and the receptionist relays the message to all of his teacher's voice mail. I'm worried. He's never missed school, and he would have called in if he was ill." Jean swallowed thickly.

"Calm down." Levi told him. "Don't jump to any conclusions. Things happen all the time. Just go home and relax. I'm certain he'll be back tomorrow. If he's not, and he still hasn't called in, I will personally call the household to ask if he's okay."

Jean took a deep breath and nodded his approval. "Okay, okay. I just hope his parents didn't find out about us again. He'll never see the light of day again if they did."

"You two will be perfectly okay. I promise." Levi assured him.

Jean nodded, feeling much better. "Speaking of being okay, how about you? You seemed really out of it this morning. Did something happen?"

Levi waved the teen's concerns away. "I ran into your crazy biology teacher."

Jean shuddered. "Enough said. Was she any help in finding out what's going on with the drugs?"

"Not really." Levi answered. It was the truth. Hanji refused to give up any useful information.

Jean's shoulders slumped. "Oh, that sucks. Well, maybe we'll find another lead."

"Perhaps." Levi said.

"Well, I'll see you tomorrow, Levi." Jean said before leaving.

Levi felt a headache coming on. Too much has happened today for him to think straight. He gathered his belongings and left the classroom.

"You don't think it's weird that Marco didn't show up today?"

Levi flinched in surprise. Eren was leaning on the wall, staring at him.

"No, I don't." Levi growled, not in the mood for anyone else. "But then again, you've known him a lot longer than me. Do you think it's weird?"

"Yes, I do." Eren walked over to his teacher. "Even when Marco was sick, he always came to school. I think it's strange that the day after a bunch of stuff was revealed, he suddenly doesn't show up. It makes sense, right? Marco knew nothing about the drugs, so he's the perfect person to take away and scare the rest of us."

"That's a lot of speculation, Jaeger." Levi told him, walking away. "You have no evidence to support your claims."

"But don't you think that's a possibility?" Eren followed him.

"I can't answer that." Levi walked faster. "Not without substantial proof. And what if he comes back to school tomorrow? All of your wild assumptions go out the window."

"True." Eren relented. "But then again, Armin thought the same thing I did. He's undoubtedly one of the smartest people in this place. I trust his judgment any day."

"You should really read the atmosphere, Eren." Levi snapped, glaring at him. "If you and your friends keep running your mouth about possible theories, something horrible _will_ happen. So keep your mouths shut about this until actual evidence comes in. Don't stir up trouble and ruin any chance of making a change in this town."

Eren narrowed his eyes. "Fine."

"Wise choice. Now if you'll excuse me, I'll be late for work if I don't get out of here." Levi told him.

"Yeah, about that." Eren sneered. "My mother will be gone today. My dad has returned from his travelling, but there's some problem with letting him inside the town. This happens a lot. It'll just be you and I today."

Levi sighed. "Oh, great. Now I have to babysit you as well."

Eren's nose flared. "Hey! I turn sixteen in two weeks! I am not a baby! And in Mitras, that is the age of consent!"

Levi stopped and turned to look at Eren with wide eyes. "What?" _What the hell is he bringing up the consent laws in the capital for?!_

"I read it in a law brochure my dad brought home from Mitras once." Eren continued proudly. "It stated that sixteen is the age of consent. I don't exactly know what that means, but it's something worthy of an adult."

Levi face palmed. _This naïve little shit better stop spouting out stuff he knows nothing about._

"I've never been to the capital." Eren sighed. "I've never been outside Shiganshina at all. You're from Mitras, right? What's it like? Is it as awesome as the travel brochures say?"

"…I guess." Levi left it at that. "Now come on. Unlike you, I have a job to do."

_**~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.**_

"Okay…" Levi stared down at a new recipe Carla wanted him to bake. "Sugar and spice doughnuts, huh?"

Levi picked up a note Carla left on the refrigerator.

_Levi,_

_I wanted to try out a recipe that I might start selling at Christmastime. Of course, I have to test it and see if people even like it. If it's a success, it will be a seasonal pastry. Thank you so much for your help! I instructed Eren to help out since I'm gone. Have a great day!_

_Carla_

Levi started laying out the proper ingredients, utensils, and trays.

"Wow, mom hasn't done a new recipe in a while." Eren popped up behind Levi.

"Do me a favor and not get in my way." Levi ordered, ignoring him.

Eren sighed, doing what he was told. "Baking is supposed to be a fun experience. You're ruining it for everyone. That's a rather rare skill. What's it like having the ability to make every enjoyable thing on Earth serious and boring?"

"Watch it, brat." Levi flicked Eren on his forehead. "I'd much rather make things boring than to walk around like an idiot and fuck shit up."

"That's not fair! I knocked over a glass bowl _one time_, and suddenly I'm a screw up." Eren retorted. "You know, baking takes patience, love, and everything else you don't have."

Levi glared at the brunette. "It also takes _skill_, something you definitely don't have."

Eren crossed his arms. "I like how I'm the only one you're mean to. You're nice to everyone else. Why is that?"

Levi finished laying out the ingredients. "I don't know. You're just fun to tease."

Eren felt his cheeks flush. "W-What?!"

Levi smirked, walking past him. "You're the only one that elicits a response from my teasing. And I find that fun. It's been years since I've had someone to trade verbal blows with back and forth."

Eren gulped. "Y-You're weird, Levi."

"That's not the first time I've heard that, and it certainly won't be the last." Levi replied coolly. "So, Mr. I'm Good at Everything, show me your skill and mix the wet ingredients together. I'll mix the dry ones."

Eren grinned and bounded over to the counter. "Thank you for noticing me, senpai."

Levi almost dropped the wooden spoon he was using. "I am not your senpai. And never say that ever again. I now regret teaching you guys about that honorific."

The brunette grinned. "It was just a joke. I think it's funny."

The two worked in silence for a while. Occasionally, customers would come in, and Levi went to handle their orders. Finally, when the dough was ready to be fried, Eren finally spoke.

"Hey, Levi."

"Yeah?" Levi looked up at him.

"Sugar and spice is a great way to describe this town and our lives." Eren looked straight ahead. "From the outside coming in, Shiganshina looks like the best place to live. It has protection, and virtually no crime. You don't have to worry about alcoholics or druggies. Or so they think. That's where the spice part comes in. Shiganshina is no paradise. It's a fucking hellhole. People think its sweet, but they're delusional. They don't taste what's underneath. Or… they choose not to."

Levi was surprised at Eren's insight. "Wow… that's a really interesting analogy."

"It's my life." Eren replied. "I am so ready to go out and explore the world for myself. I want to see different kinds of people, religions, lifestyles, and cultures. I don't want to be stuck in a bubble forever. Armin and I are planning our escape."

Levi decided not to say anything else. If he did, it would bring up a painful memory he wished to not relive.

After Levi and Eren fried several batches of the doughnuts, it was nearly closing time. The two were sitting at the kitchen table.

"…" Eren was staring down at his math homework, a troubled look on his face.

Levi looked at the worksheet, then back up at Eren. "You have no idea what to do, do you?"

"Oh! Uh, yeah I do!" Eren lied. "I'm just refreshing my memory."

"Refreshing your memory?" Levi scoffed. "You don't refresh your memory by staring at a blank worksheet. Don't you have notes?"

Eren didn't respond.

"That's what I thought." Levi scooted his chair over next to Eren. "What are you working on?"

Levi leaned in closer to Eren to get a better look at the homework. Eren suddenly felt warm from the close contact.

"You're trying to find slope, huh? Ah, it took me a while to get this concept too when I was in Algebra." Levi admitted. "So, let's start with the basics. Do you know which line is the x-coordinate and the y-coordinate on the graph?"

Eren pointed to the horizontal line and vertical line respectively.

"Very good. So, the first problem says to draw a line with the starting point being at (3, 5). Plot that point first." Levi instructed.

Eren took his pencil and did what he was told.

"Great. So the problem says the slope is 5/4. Here's an easy way to plot the extra points to draw the line." Levi took Eren's hand with the pencil in it.

Eren's cheeks darkened even more. He prayed that Levi didn't notice.

"Think of the slope as rise over run, meaning the numerator "rises", and the denominator "runs". Now, referring to the graph, the x coordinate serves as your "run". Here's how to remember it. What do you do when you see your ex? You _run_."

"Ha ha…" Eren chuckled. "So, if the numerator "rises", I will be going up five, then I will "run" four times?"

"That's correct. Since the slope is positive, which way will you be rising and running?" Levi inquired.

"Uh, I will be going up five then to the right four." Eren answered.

"Very good. Now, do that from your starting point. Then draw the line between the two points." Levi finished.

Smiling proudly, Eren did just that. "Wow, you're a really good at this. You should be my math teacher too."

"I never did like math." Levi shrugged. "But I knew I had to learn it. And it's a good thing I did, otherwise I wouldn't have been able to help you."

Eren looked down. "T-Thanks. Can you… help me with the rest of the problems?"

"Only a few. I want you to learn these on your own. I won't be there when you get tested." Levi pointed out. "Okay… looks like the second problem has a negative slope."

Eren tried his best to pay attention to Levi's instructions, but it was difficult to concentrate with Levi so close to him. He could feel Levi's body heat warming him up.

_What's wrong with me? _Eren asked himself. _Why am do I feel so strange around him recently? I wasn't feeling this way when I first met him. But… something's changed. And I'm not sure if it was a change in him… or in me._

"Eren!"

"Yes!? Eren snapped out of his thoughts.

"I asked you five times which direction the line will go with a negative slope." Levi scolded him. "Don't start daydreaming. That's what probably got you in trouble the first time. Now pay attention."

"Yes." Eren sighed. "I'm sorry."

_Levi is strict, crude, rude, and mean. But… that doesn't bother me at all. I mean, it did at first, but as soon as I started trusting Levi, I found good in him that I never noticed. What's wrong with me?_

_**~.~.~.~.~.~.~.**_

After saying his goodbyes to Eren, Levi briskly walked home. The sun had completely set, and the moon was out, lighting Levi's path.

_I actually liked tutoring the brat in his studies, but he kept drifting off. I wonder what was up with that. _Levi thought to himself. _Oh, well. Probably teenager stuff. I used to be like that._

Levi temporarily decided to push Eren to the back of his mind for a while. He had another task to accomplish; confront Erwin about Hanji and the drugs.

_How the hell has Erwin been hiding this stuff? I live with the guy. I never thought he could be as sneaky as me._ _I guess I rubbed off on him after all._

When Levi entered the house, Erwin was already home, unwinding on the couch.

"Erwin, I have to talk to you." Levi said as a form of greeting.

"Good evening to you as well." Erwin stretched. "Listen, I don't really feel like talking about serious stuff tonight. A lot happened today, and I need to clear my mind."

"What?" Levi's eyes narrowed suspiciously. "What happened?"

"A high school kid got arrested this morning." Erwin sighed. "I think his name is Marco Bodt. A witness spotted him and Jean Kirstein together, and reported it to the police. Apparently that broke their probation. The Jean boy didn't get arrested though, since Marco confessed that he-"

Levi was frozen. "Did… did you just say Marco Bodt?"

"Yes." Erwin gazed at Levi curiously. "Why? Wait… is he in your class-?"

"How did this happen?!" Levi shouted, cutting Erwin off. "Who reported him?"

"Levi, calm down." Erwin got up and walked over to Levi's side. "I don't know what's going on, but I'll try to get as much information as possible tomorrow. I wasn't at the scene, so-…Levi?"

Levi had a wild look on his face, and his mind was cluttered with horrible thoughts. _He trusted me…! He and Jean trusted me! I told them everything would be alright. Is this going to happen to Historia and Ymir too?! This can't be happening. Who did this?! _

"Where are they holding him?" Levi asked in a scarily calm tone.

Erwin hesistaed. "I think he's in a cell."

Levi gritted his teeth. _Marco… hang in there! I promise I'll get you out somehow!_

* * *

**Well… that happened. Someone ratted Marco and Jean out! Who did such a horrible thing?! And who exactly is Hanji? Is she just some mad scientist, or perhaps some sort of secret spy? All and more will be revealed in following chapters!**

**If you've enjoyed this so far, add this to your favorites and alerts. And remember…**

**REVIEWS ARE LIKE PORN TO WRITERS, SO SATISFY OUR URGES!**

**See you in the next one!**

**PRK**


	9. The Traitor

**Hey guys! I have some news that may or may not make you sad. Eyes of the Beholder will be on hold until this story is completed. And this is why:**

**Since college is currently kicking my ass, my brain is getting fried, and it's too much to keep switching plot from story to story. If I keep doing that, I will forget stuff and not be able to write. And then, that means I would give up on both stories. So, I will focus on one story until it's completed. Then I will go back and finish the other.**

**For those who like Eyes of the Beholder more, I'm sorry. Do not think I'm giving up. I have the ideas, I just can't focus on two stories at the same time while I'm in school. Maybe when things settle down, I'll be able to go back to writing two stories at once. **

**Thank you so much for the reviews, faves, and alerts! I appreciate you!**

**Enjoy the chapter~! :3  
**

* * *

**Chapter 9 **_The Traitor_

"Levi? Levi...? LEVI!"

Levi blinked several times and looked up. His entire class stared at him.

"Levi, it's eight o'clock. Aren't we supposed to do the greeting?" Connie asked.

"Right." Levi sighed, getting up from his desk chair. So many thoughts were running through his mind, he didn't even hear the warning bell.

Eren stared at his teacher, concern washing over him. The brunette then glanced at Jean. He was gazing at Marco's empty desk, a solemn expression on his face.

_They are both out of it. And Marco is still gone. Was Armin right? Did Marco disappear? _Eren wondered to himself. _And if that's the case, does Levi know something that we don't? What's happening...?_

After the greeting, Levi lifelessly began that day's lesson over using verbs in the past tense. The man was never peppy during his lectures, but he was never this dull. Something definitely happened.

Eren looked at Armin. His blond friend nodded and mouthed, _'we'll talk after class.'_

In the middle of the class period, Levi's cell phone rang.

"Goddamn it..." Levi muttered, walking over to his desk. After checking called id, Levi's eyes widened.

"Excuse me for a minute." Levi told his class, hurrying out the room to answer.

As soon as Levi shut the door, the students buzzed with worry.

"What's up with Levi today? Is he feeling alright?" Sasha asked.

"And also Marco is still gone." Historia bit her lip. "I went by his house yesterday to give him the homework, but he wasn't there."

Jean gasped. "Where is he?!"

"I don't know." Historia looked down. "His parents wouldn't say anything about his whereabouts."

Jean slammed his fist on his desk, tears prickling his eyes. "Damn it all... where could he be? This isn't like him! There's no way he could have run away."

Eren scooted his chair close to Armin. "What do you think?" He whispered to his best friend.

"Something is definitely wrong." Armin replied. "From what Historia said, he must be somewhere that his parents don't want to share publicly. Especially with the daughter of the Reiss family. There aren't many places around here that would be so bad that it can't be shared with someone."

"That's true. But... where on earth could that place be? Prison?" Eren asked, somewhat jokingly.

Armin was silent. "...maybe."

Eren gaped. "I was kidding. There's no way he could be in there. He didn't break any rules."

Armin directed his gaze to Jean. "Maybe he did."

Eren eyes landed on Jean as well. "But... there's no way they could have been told on. They haven't been seen by anyone together. I've seen them together once, and that was after school in here. Even Historia and Ymir were in here together. They weren't seen as well."

"...unless the culprit who ratted them out was someone who was aware of their relationship the entire time." Armin hypothesized.

"But who could that be?" Eren frowned.

Armin shook his head. "I don't even want to try and guess. Because... that means we may have to turn on one of our own classmates."

Eren gritted his teeth. "Damn. So let's say someone did tell on them. How come Jean wasn't taken in as well?"

"That's the part I don't get." Armin sighed. "Marco is the most innocent being in Shiganshina. But he suddenly disappears without a trace. He didn't even know we had parties and drugs were found. So... why him? Why not someone who knows?"

"This shit is getting ridiculous." Eren growled. "We need to take action _now_. What if someone else goes missing tomorrow? Eventually we'll all be in trouble."

"There's nothing we can do right now." Armin told him unhappily. "We still don't know _why_ Marco is missing. I've been spouting theories, but nothing is set in stone."

"Right..." Eren closed his eyes. "But... I do think Levi knows something. Levi didn't think our speculations about Marco were correct and we had nothing to worry about. Now all of a sudden he looks like he's seen a ghost."

"Maybe so. Since you're the closest to him, will you try to pry information out of him?" Armin asked.

Eren blushed wildly. "W-What do you mean the 'closest' to him?!"

"You spend the most time with him." Armin replied simply. "And you both work together at the bakery. And don't think I don't see the way you look at him during class. I wasn't born yesterday."

Eren hid his face. "Shut up. Nothing is going on."

"I never said there was anything going on." Armin raised an eyebrow. "Is there?"

"No!" Eren blurted.

Armin giggled. "Fine. Just talk to him later about this, okay? I'm really worried about Marco. And if I'm feeling this way, I can't imagine how Jean must be feeling."

Eren glanced at Jean's dismayed expression. "Yeah, me neither. And the fact that he's banned from even being near him sucks even more. Can't even visit the guy."

"I just pray to God that Marco's okay." Armin rubbed his temple.

Eren turned back around in his seat. "He's going to need more than prayer to get out of this situation unscathed. He's going to need _luck_."

_**~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.**_

"Erwin! Did you get clearance?" Levi paced back and forth in the men's bathroom, pressing his cellphone against his ear.

"Barely. I had to pull a few strings and use favors people owed me." Erwin sighed. "Luckily, you are not under the police's radar, so they had good reason to stop you from seeing Marco. In fact, your chances of seeing him increased when I told them that you were his teacher."

"Do you know his current status?" Levi asked anxiously.

"..." Erwin was silent.

"Erwin?" Levi's eyes narrowed. "What is his current status?"

"...he was raped by two inmates last night. It was ordered by the religious leader Pastor Nick to force Marco to not have homosexual feelings or relations ever again."

"..." Levi was squeezing his phone so tight, it was on the verge of breaking. "So Pastor Nick told two men to fuck the gay out of him?"

"...pretty much." Erwin confirmed quietly.

Levi couldn't speak.

"I have to go, Levi. I'll drop by the house at around five to pick you up. Marco should be back in his cell by then. And... I'm sorry this is happening. I... I never thought the government would go this far."

Erwin hung up. Levi slowly brought his phone back down. He stared off into space, completely forgetting about his waiting students.

_Marco... was raped. Why? What has he done to deserve this?! _

Levi heard a toilet flush. The man turned around, ready to face the eavesdropper and blackmail him into not saying a word. The stall door opened, revealing...

"Hanji?!" Levi took a step back in shock.

"Levi!" Hanji squealed. "Long time no see!"

"We just saw each other yesterday." Levi snapped. "What are you doing in here anyway?"

"Well," Hanji began, walking over to the sink to wash her hands. "I was actually on my way to your classroom to speak to you, but I had to pee, so I came in here. Then you came in here like a ball of fire."

"This is the men's restroom." Levi crossed his arms. "Don't tell me you can't read?"

"I sure can!" Hanji grinned. "I am a man! Ooh, that rhymed!"

"...what?" Levi stared at Hanji in disbelief.

"Shh, don't tell any of the other teachers though!" Hanji pressed a finger to her lips. "They think I'm a woman, which is exactly what I want. I'm transgender!"

"Wow." Levi didn't know what to say. "You sure fooled me."

"Thank you." Hanji took that as a compliment. "It really helped when I started wearing water bras and growing my hair out."

"So... about what you just heard..." Levi changed the subject.

"I already know about Marco Bodt." Hanji told him. "And trust me, I hate this just as much as you do. We're trying to find a way to get him out. But in order to do that, I have to speak to the person that got him in trouble in the first place and make a deal."

"Wait, you know who did it?" Levi frowned.

"Yes. It wasn't that hard to find out, anyway. She's the only one that has seen Marco with this Jean character, and has the power to get Marco arrested. I was on my way to speak to her."

Levi felt weak. "Historia...?"

"Bingo." Hanji snapped her fingers. "It makes sense, right? One of our discreet officers was there when Marco was taken in, and Historia was with them. And Erwin told me that you had after school sessions with Historia, Ymir, Marco, and Jean, correct?"

Levi was too shocked to reply. _Historia... that traitor! Why the hell would she rat out someone in the same boat as her? Unless..._

"Are you starting to put it all together now?" Hanji inquired. "Historia has been aware of the drugs the entire time. And when you and your students put the attention on that, she had to make a diversion somehow. What better way to do that than to do something that affects you and your class? Arrest a nice boy that broke the law just to see his lover. And she knew that would hurt you the most. See, you're the driving force behind these kids speaking up about the drugs. Historia is a smart one. Hell, she's more devious than her parents. She knocked out several birds with one stone."

Levi shook with rage.

"She's protecting something. And that's the only thing I can't figure out." Hanji sighed. "What's in it for her? Don't tell me she actually _likes_ what her parents are involved in."

"…what deal are you going to make with that bitch?" Levi asked, scowling.

"An exchange." Hanji replied. "She thinks she has kept her own love life a secret from the world, but I'd say otherwise. We have high surveillance on the Reiss residence, and we've seen her and that Ymir girl together. And after looking at Ymir's profile, she can easily get arrested. She works, and all of that money goes to her parents buying alcohol from out of town, which is of course illegal in Shiganshina. I doubt Historia would want her girlfriend to share a cell with Marco and the other inmates. So, if she uses her influence to get Marco released, we'll keep Ymir out of this."

Levi did not like this one bit. Negotiations were never his thing. He'd rather beat the information out of her.

"And what if she refuses, despite the threats against Ymir?" He asked.

"Then we'll resort to force." Hanji said simply.

"You know… you never told me who you really are. There's no point in hiding it anymore. I'm in this too deep. Who the fuck are you, and what is Erwin's role?"

Hanji smiled. "We have a small group within the national government called the Survey Corps. From our name, you can guess what we do. We 'survey' people and towns that are under suspicion. Our members are disguised as normal people. Erwin is playing the police officer, and I'm playing the science teacher. We are the eyes and ears in this current operation. I keep tabs on this school, and Erwin keeps track of the police here."

"So that's why Erwin suddenly moved here…" Levi clenched his fists. "So… who's going to do the negotiation?"

Hanji gave Levi a grave smile. "You. That was what I was going to discuss with you. I can't reveal who I really am to Historia. Since you are not in the Survey Corps, you're the only one that can talk to her."

Levi exhaled. "Fine. I'll do it. You know, something's been bothering me. If you've been sent by the national government, why can't they just send some troops here and haul everyone out?"

Hanji grimaced. "We can't. Think of this place as a Native American reserve. The national law has no jurisdiction in Shiganshina. That was ordained years before the Reiss family took over this place. The only reason why the national government is aware of what's going on is because it was reported by a travelling doctor. He regularly leaves Shiganshina and gives updates and reports."

"Travelling doctor… you mean Eren's Jaeger's father?" Levi's eyes widened.

"It was brought to the government's attention years ago, but they were never able to infiltrate successfully until Erwin and I came along." Hanji explained.

"This is all insane. I still don't think I understand everything you've just told me." Levi shook his head. "But I'll do what I can."

"You can start by getting back to your class. I'm sure _Historia_ is worried." Hanji told him, walking out of the bathroom.

Levi followed suit, his mind clouded in anger. After making sure his face was expressionless, Levi walked back inside his classroom. Everyone stopped talking as soon as he entered.

"Are you okay, Levi?" Historia asked worriedly.

It took every ounce of self-control not to go over to her and strangle her.

"I'm fine." He replied.

"Hey… does Levi look oddly calm to you?" Armin whispered to Eren.

"Yeah." The brunette replied quietly. "It's sorta creeping me out."

A few minutes later, the class ended. Everyone shuffled out, still worried about Levi. Eren wanted to say something to him, but didn't have the words. Just before Historia could step out with Ymir, Levi stopped her.

"Historia, will you stay after for a minute?" Levi asked.

Historia looked at Levi, then at Ymir.

"I'll stay with you." Ymir said quickly.

"No, I have to speak to her confidentially." Levi said firmly.

Ymir was about to argue, but Historia stopped her.

"It's okay. You go on ahead. I'll see you later." Historia told her.

Ymir sighed. "Okay. I'll see you later."

As soon as Ymir left, Levi shut the door. His calm expression dissipated into one of anger.

"W-What did you need to discuss with me, Levi?" Historia gulped, scared of Levi's expression.

"I found out you ratted Marco and Jean out." Levi growled. "How could you? How could you do that to someone who was innocent?"

Historia backed away. "Levi… stop."

"You're in position to be making demands." Levi cracked his knuckles. "Undo the mess you've made. Get Marco out of prison."

Historia looked down. "I can't. It's too late."

Levi overturned one of the desks, the loud noise frightening Historia.

"Who the hell gave you the right to say that?" Levi got in the small girl's face. "Marco trusted you! You both shared a secret no one else could know. You betrayed him and every homosexual in Shiganshina. And all for _your_ benefit, so you could protect your no good family's ass! What do you think would happen if _Ymir_ was taken to prison?"

Historia gasped. "No…! Leave her out of this!"

Levi grabbed Historia's collar, lifting her up into the air. "Why should I?" He asked menacingly. "You didn't leave Marco out of it. He had no clue the drugs existed, but you brought him down so you could scare everyone else into keeping their mouths shut. But I've got news for you. _You_ will go down next if you don't fix this!"

"Let me go!" Historia grabbed at Levi's hand, clawing it with her nails.

Levi didn't feel the pain. "If you don't get him released, I will have no choice but to report Ymir. She works because her parents have no money, and they use that money to go buy alcohol from out of town. The police will just love that. Then I'll just tell them that she is gay as well. Hey, maybe she and Marco will share the same cell, and get _raped_ every night by the inmates. Does that sound fair to you?"

Levi dropped Historia. She crumpled to the ground, sobbing.

"I-I'll see what I can do!" Historia relented, her tears freefalling. "I can't promise anything! Marco has already been convicted!"

"Then _un_convict him." With that, Levi walked out of his classroom, leaving Historia in a sobbing heap.

_**~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.**_

Hours later, Levi was riding with Erwin to the Shiganshina Jail.

"You only get a few minutes to speak with him." Erwin told Levi.

"A few minutes is all I need." Levi snapped.

Erwin glanced at the man. "Good job with the negotiation with Historia, by the way. I'm certain things will happen soon."

"It's too early to be celebrating shit." Levi scoffed. "Marco is still in prison, Historia is hiding something, and my students are in danger because of an accidental discovery. I will not be satisfied until this damned town goes down in flames."

Erwin sighed. "Levi… I'm sorry about all of this. I did not anticipate any of this happening when I offered to take you in. Especially finding out about the Survey Corps. Just so you know, you can always leave this place forever."

"And turn my back on this? Hell no." Levi glowered. "This is a fight for freedom. There's no way I can leave."

"I expected that." Erwin chuckled darkly. "Well, we're here."

After getting clearance from security at the front gate, Erwin barely had time to park before Levi was already out of the squad car. Erwin quickly caught up with him.

"You have to calm down, Levi. If anyone inside suspects that you're going to try something on them, you will be thrown out."

"What are you talking about? I am calm." Levi muttered through clenched teeth.

Levi slowed down to match Erwin's pace. Erwin checked in with the front desk. Afterwards, a guard led Erwin and Levi to visitation. Erwin got special permission for himself to be the only police officer inside to witness and watch over Marco and Levi's conversation.

Levi sat down at the small cubicle, staring at a window of glass revealing the other side. Minutes later, Marco was roughly escorted in by a member of the Military Police.

"You have five minutes." Levi heard the officer tell Marco harshly.

As soon as he left, Marco pressed his hands against the window, his eyes wild and frightened.

He was saying something frantically, but his voice was extremely muffled.

The boy's voice was muffled. Levi pointed towards the telephone receiver before picking his up. Marco quickly pressed the receiver to his ear.

"Levi! Is Jean okay?!" Marco asked, panicked. "Historia told on us, but I told the police that I manipulated him, so he didn't get in trouble!"

Levi felt his heart break. "He's fine, Marco. He's well and attending school."

Marco sighed in relief, letting his tears fall. "Levi… you have to help me! Get me out of here, _please_!" He sobbed.

Levi noticed Marco had some bruises on his face. "We're trying everything we can, I promise. Just stay strong. God knows you're innocent. And that's something the government cannot say otherwise."

Marco sniffled. "I-I keep trying to tell myself that. The inmates… they do horrible things to me, Levi. Even some of the guards make me give them oral sex… I… I just don't know why this is happening! Why?!"

Levi couldn't say anything as Marco wept.

"…all I did was fall in love." Marco whispered.

"Alright, time's up, devil spawn." The guard came back to collect Marco.

Marco's eyes widened in horror. "Levi!" He shouted, pressing his hands against the glass again.

"I'll get you out, I swear!" Levi promised, pressing one hand against the glass as well.

"Come on!" The guard yanked Marco away, taking him back to his cell.

Levi stood there with his hand on the glass, as if frozen in time.

"Levi… we have to go." Erwin put a hand on Levi's shoulder. "There's nothing we can do for Marco right now."

Levi looked extremely pained. "You're right."

Erwin led Levi out of the prison silently, uncertain of what the future held for Marco Bodt.

* * *

**The traitor has been revealed!**

**There will be more to come. I know I've been laying heavy on the drama, but don't worry, there will be some Riren love coming soon. Not in the next chapter, but soon. It's currently March in the story, and you know what that means… EREN'S BIRTHDAY.**

**If you've enjoyed this so far, add this to your favorites and alerts. And remember…**

**REVIEWS ARE LIKE PORN TO WRITERS, SO SATISFY OUR URGES!**

**See you in the next one!**

**PRK**


End file.
